CANADA: After just two weeks of negotiations, members of United
Steelworkers (USW) Local 8740 at Gerdau Ameristeel's Manitoba Metals in St. Andrews ratified a new five-year labour contract covering 87 workers in the scrap prep facility that serves as a feeder for the company's Selkirk mill.

Worker gains under the St. Andrews agreement includes:

• A $750 signing bonus
  
• Annual wage increases totalling $2.15 to $3.55 an hour
  
• A 30 per cent pension increase
  
• Improved health and safety language
  
• The creation of new maintenance positions that are likely to create new hiring
  
• Company-provided work clothing and outerwear
  
• A new arbitration process to improve grievance handling
  
• A 30-day, company-sponsored training program for health and safety committee members

The relatively quick settlement with Canadian management comes in stark contrast to Gerdau’s business practices in the U.S. where seven labour agreements with the company have expired and a recent ruling in favour of USW members found Gerdau to be in violation of its labour agreement.

“We have had nothing but problems with Gerdau’s management since they have acquired steelmaking properties in the United States, ” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard referring to Gerdau’s refusal to pay profit sharing to workers at one of its Kentucky plants. The USW fought the company and won more than $ 2 million in back pay for its members.

"How can Gerdau have decent relations with our union in Canada and get along with unions in its home country of Brazil while refusing to deal in good faith with its U.S. workers?

"It's time that Gerdau's chairman and CEO Jorge Johannpeter Gerdau come to the U.S. and get involved in negotiations before his Tampa management leads his company to ruin," said Gerard.

The United Steelworkers represents some 3,000 workers at 13 Gerdau
locations in North America.

AUSTRALIA: IMF affiliates from Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere took action at on behalf of members of the Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation Workers’ Association (TMPCWA) who are fighting for reinstatement of sacked workers and union recognition.

AMWU president Julius Roe, IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi and AMWU national secretary Doug Cameron addressed the situation at Toyota Philippines at the biennial national conference of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union in Sydney. The 100 delegates to the conference cheered the address of Virgilio Colandog, member of the TMPCWA board of directors.

“The AMWU has a good collective agreement with Toyota but our members are concerned that the company must respect ILO standards wherever they invest. The anti-worker laws in Australia provide opportunities for companies to also attack our hard won rights. The workers must be reinstated and the union recognised,” Roe said.

Roe announced that the AMWU would give AUS$2,000 (US$1,500) to help support TMPCWA efforts. Amicus, the Canadian Autoworkers Union, CWA and the New Zealand EPMU, pledged to match the AMWU, and an additional $750 was collected from conference delegates.

Delegates resolved to support solidarity actions and further fundraising in support of the Toyota workers.

“This is an important struggle not only for Filipino workers at Toyota, but metalworkers around the world who repeatedly face company intimidation, government intervention, and gross violations of fundamental workers’ rights,” said Marcello Malentacchi.

Several Filipino born AMWU delegates at the conference supported Virgilio, including one from the large Toyota plant in Melbourne. There are more than 150 AMWU members of Filipino background at the Melbourne plant. Virgilio will hold special meetings with Toyota workers in New South Wales and Victoria later this week. Toyota workers in Australia will continue to pressure Toyota to respect workers rights in the Philippines.

The IMF and its affiliates have launched an international campaign calling for the immediate reinstatement of the TMPCWA workers illegally fired by Toyota.

Read more about the campaign to Reinstate Them Now!

ITALY: Italian metalworkers wrote to Emma Bonino, Italian minister for trade, on July 24, calling on her to make the Doha Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) an effective round for development.

The joint letter from IMF affiliates FIM-Cisl, FIOM-Cigl and UILM-Uil expressed concern about the negative consequences of excessive market opening, particularly for developing countries.

Particular demands of the unions for the Doha Round included:

• that the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) proposals being considered not be adopted as they would result in only five points difference between the coefficient for the developing countries and that for the industrialized countries;
  
• to ensure that tariff reductions for the developing countries are considerably lower than those for the industrialized countries;
  
• to allow developing countries to adopt their own development strategies based on their domestic markets and their own industrial policies, including tariff levels.

The unions argued that the Doha Round should be replaced by new rules to foster a policy of promoting human rights and development centred on people and on environmental sustainability.

The letter was sent to the Minister in anticipation of the WTO General Council meeting on July 27 and 28, which has since been cancelled following the suspension of the Doha Round of trade negotiations.

A copy of the letter is published in Italian and English on the IMF website.

GERMANY: IG Metall wrote to the German minister for economics and technology last week, calling on him to take account of development concerns and the situation of workers worldwide when negotiating on the Doha Round at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Following the unsuccessful ministerial meeting of the WTO in Geneva on June 30, IG Metall is urging the German government not to pursue the conclusion at all costs, even at the expense of developing countries.

In the letter IG Metall requests the German government uses its influence to make sure that the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) proposals likely to cause serious damage to the local industries of developing countries currently being considered by the WTO are not adopted.

Instead, IG Metall argues, the WTO Doha Round must help maintain a developing country’s scope for a legitimate development strategy, which is based on the domestic market and an active industrial policy. IG Metall also states that tariff reductions for developing countries should be considerably lower than those for industrialised countries.

“Successful participation in international trade requires an adequate level of successful industrialisation — not the opposite,” writes IG Metall.

A copy of IG Metall’s letter is published in English, German and Spanish.

GENEVA: The IMF joined a trade union delegation that came to Geneva last week, June 29 — July 1, to lobby trade negotiators. Colleagues came from countries in Africa and Latin America, from National Centres and unions in the metalworkers, textile, food and education sectors. The trade union mobilisation, in collaboration with other social movements, focussed on the risks of serious repercussions on jobs, development prospects and workers rights that current proposals for the Doha Round of negotiations may have.

See below the statement issued by the ICFTU, July 3, that reflects the comments of the trade union delegation after the talks breakdown.

INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS

ICFTU Online…
111/030706

WTO talks breakdown: Governments must not fail on development and jobs

Brussels 03 July 2006 (ICFTU OnLine): Following the breakdown of the trade negotiations on Saturday at the WTO, the next steps in the process must shift the focus to an outcome that delivers on development and employment.

The talks failed mainly because of the continued insistence of industrialised countries on far-reaching access into developing countries' markets for industrial products, while failing to address the inequities of trade in agriculture.

"It should now be clear to everyone that If there is to be any progress towards an agreement, it must demonstrably meet developmental needs and should not ask developing countries to trade off access to their industrial markets against hypothetical benefits in agriculture," said ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder.

Deep tariff cuts in NAMA would lead to a large number of job losses in developing countries and to high adjustment costs. It would also render developing countries unable to implement trade policies in the future to develop their economies and meet the needs of their people.

"This would be an unacceptable outcome, in view of the development mandate that the negotiators were given in Doha," added Guy Ryder.

"No sustainable solution can involve the worsening of poverty and unemployment in countries that already face a major challenge in creating decent jobs for the unemployed and underemployed. Moreover, it remains absolutely true that as the ILO Constitution states, poverty anywhere is a danger to prosperity everywhere – in other words, an agreement that undermines development in developing countries would undermine the situation of working people in the industrialised countries as well."

Any acceptable way forward must avoid imposed and unbalanced solutions. Rather, a bottom-up process based on inclusive consultations should be implemented, which ultimately should lead to a balanced and development-friendly agreement.

The ICFTU therefore considers it is essential that :

• The WTO should not put pressure on developing countries by setting unrealistic deadlines when respective positions of WTO members are still far apart.
  
• Apparent compromises that would undermine the developmental impact of the round must be rejected; agreement can only be achieved through broad, open consultations and discussions.
  
• Members must not adopt or promote a NAMA package such as that presently under negotiation, which fails to respect the principle of "less than full reciprocity" for developing countries and would be detrimental to their prospects of development. Developing countries must be able to apply a tariff reduction that is in line with their stage of development, in conformity with the agreed principle of less than full reciprocity (requiring therefore a coefficient far higher than those figures currently proposed by the US and EU).
  
• The EU and the US must make genuine concessions on agriculture.
  
• On GATS, vital public services (education, health, water and so on) must not be subject to negotiation. Any agreement on services must explicitly say that governments may take any measures or regulations needed to improve access for poor and working people.


The potentially devastating effect on employment of NAMA in developing countries is documented in the ICFTU's report, "NAMA SIMULATIONS FOR LABOUR INTENSIVE SECTORS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES", published at:
http://www.icftu.org/www/PDF/ICFTUNAMAtariffsimulations.pdf

GLOBAL: In a week of coordinated action at unionised Toyota sites around the world, Toyota workers have been demanding reinstatement of 136 illegally fired workers as part of the IMF Toyota Philippines: Reinstate Them Now! campaign.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation, the target of the global campaign, has refused to reinstate illegally dismissed workers, despite Supreme Court and International Labour Organisation (ILO) rulings in the workers’ favour.

In South Africa, a trade union delegation met with local management on June 28 and delivered a letter of protest calling on Toyota to reinstate the workers. The delegation included seven Toyota shop stewards, regional and national NUMSA leadership, IMF assistant general secretary Brian Fredricks, IMF Executive Committee member Fernando Lopes and IMF regional representatives Stephen Nhlapo and Arunasalam.

In Australia, thousands of Toyota workers have signed a petition demanding the reinstatement of the workers circulated by AMWU delegates in the last week of June. The petition will be presented to management in the next few days. In Thailand and the UK, IMF affiliates TEAM and Amicus have sent letters to local Toyota management calling for the reinstatement of the workers.

In Brazil, metalworkers will hold informational and solidarity meetings at two Toyota manufacturing plants in Sao Paula on June 29, disrupting production for at least one hour. The action in Brazil, led by IMF affiliate CNM-CUT, will also involve workers at a Toyota logistics and distribution centre in Guaíba, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

In the Philippines, dismissed workers held a protest on June 27 in front of the Japanese Embassy and Toyota Manila Bay, a Toyota dealership located near the embassy.

“This week workers have warned Toyota that its anti-worker stance is damaging the image and reputation of the company and calls on management to resolve the dispute by reinstating the workers,” said IMF assistant general secretary Brian Fredricks.

Further actions are planned to take place at Toyota sites in various parts of the world in the coming weeks. For information about the IMF Toyota Philippines: Reinstate Them Now! campaign go to: www.imfmetal.org/toyotaphilippines

SOUTH AFRICA: African metalworker unions expressed concern about the proposals being currently discussed at the WTO in the framework of the Doha “Development” Round.

In a statement from metalworker unions in Angola, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African unions call on all trade unions, especially in developed countries, to take effective action to influence the ongoing negotiations, in particular on NAMA, and to prevent their completion on their current basis.

The statement asks comrades in the North and in the South to join forces and intervene with our respective governments to ensure that the Doha round of WTO negotiations genuinely contributes to development.

The statement, which was adopted at the end of an IMF seminar on trade, employment and development on June 27, asks trade unions in all countries to mobilise their membership, in alliance with other social movements, to ensure that the Doha round is indeed a developmental round. In particular:

• NAMA must provide space for developing countries to pursue an active industrial policy. For this to be possible we support a coefficient of at least 40 and exemption of 15 per cent of imports.
  
• The EU and the USA must make genuine concessions in agriculture, while taking measures to ensure that the adjustment costs in their countries do not fall on the back of workers and the poor; and all governments must ensure that the agreement contain commitments on assistance to, promotion of, and protection for small holders in the South.
  
• On GATS, basic services must not be tabled by any party, and any agreement on services must explicitly ensure access for poor and working people in the South and respect their development needs.

The African trade unions stated that they have the responsibility to bring these issues to the attention of their governments and demand from them not to give in particularly to unacceptable demands on NAMA.

The seminar was one of a series of regional meetings being held by the IMF in 2006, aimed at developing common strategies and building union capacity to engage with governments, employers and other institutions on trade, finance and development policies.

A full copy of the statement in English is published on the IMF website.

GLOBAL: The International Metalworkers’ Federation joined other global union federations and more than 100 civil society groups in calling on Trade Ministers to the World Trade Organisation to start a new approach to the multilateral trading system.

Appalled by both the substance and the process of the current WTO negotiations the IMF joins others in demanding that Trade Ministers to the WTO:

• Object to the legitimacy of the June mini-Ministerial and withdraw support on the grounds that it is excludes representation from the large majority of WTO members,
  
• Reject any attempt by Director-General Pascal Lamy drafting his own text for Ministers’ consideration, and
  
• Start a new approach to the multilateral trading system that focus on promoting human rights and people-centred ecologically sustainable development.

These demands are supported by a series of economic reports on the projected outcomes of the “Doha Development Round” that indicate that developed countries will make the most gains, while people in African countries and other least-developed countries are expected to lose.

“The trade deals on the table will severely limit domestic policy options for developing countries, only serve the private interests of the biggest corporations around the world and fail to consider the impact that further trade liberalisation will have on development and on employment,” said IMF General Secretary Marcello Malentacchi.

A copy of the letter to trade ministers is published in English on the IMF website.

ROMANIA: Trade unions representing Mittal’s metalworkers in Central and Eastern Europe declare they will work with trade unions at Arcelor to ensure the newly merged company respects workers’ rights.

IMF affiliates from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Russia joined by Canada, Germany, the UK and the U.S. met on June 26 and 27 to discuss developments at Mittal and trade union strategies in response.

At the conclusion of the meeting, delegates resolved to work together with their trade union brothers and sisters at Arcelor to create a culture of respect for workers’ rights in the new steel giant, setting the standard for all other steel companies to follow.

The IMF will call a high level meeting with affiliates with members in Arecelor and Mittal to discuss a global trade unions response to the changed conditions in the company and steel industry at large.

“This merger will impact on over 300,000 workers lives, yet serious questions remain on industrial policy, job security and workers’ rights. The IMF will continue to pursue answers on these important issues by bringing together unions from Arcelor and Mittal,” said IMF General Secretary Marcello Malentacchi.

The merger of Mittal Steel and Arcelor, yet to be formally approved by shareholders, will create a steel company three times larger than its nearest rival. According to Reuters, the combined company will produce about 10 per cent of the world’s steel, with a turnover of 55 billion euros and employ a total of 334,000 staff.

In Mexico, the country’s largest mining company, Grupo México, and the Mexican government, first under President Vicente Fox, and now under President Felipe Calderón, have systematically and repeatedly violated Mexican law and international standards to crush the National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM).

In February 2006, the government illegally removed the union’s General Secretary, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, and replaced him with a government appointee, Elías Morales Hernández. Next, the government perverted the Mexican legal system and levelled charges of corruption and embezzlement against Gómez. An independent audit of the union’s accounts, commissioned by the IMF, proved all funds were accounted for and exonerated Gómez of any wrong doing, yet the government still refuses to correct this wrong doing.

When a number of inquiries into theses actions revealed that the government had used falsified documents, concealed evidence, and coerced officials to issue baseless arrest warrants against the union leader, Grupo México and the government moved to divide the union, granting overnight recognition to a procompany union and holding "elections" in which workers were forced and coerced to join its ranks.

Meanwhile, Grupo México enjoys full use of the national army and federal police to break strikes, kill workers and arrest union leaders fighting for safer working conditions in Grupo México-owned mines.

Gómez was officially reinstated as General Secretary on April 11, 2007, after a federal court ruled the Labour Secretariat had overstepped its authority and failed to comply with established procedures.

However, Gómez remains in exile due to unfounded pending charges and intense safety and security threats against him and his family.

Today, it seems Grupo México is able to murder, torture, intimidate and abuse workers with complete impunity while the acts of defending democratic freedoms and workers’ rights are deemed illicit. The government has relied on force and violence to resolve the country’s labour disputes, while criminalizingtrade union activity.

The IMF and its affiliates are calling on the Mexican government to:

• release all union funds illegally seized by the government;
• lift all charges still pending against Napoleón Gómez Urrutia and other members of the SNTMMSRM;
• prosecute in a court of law, immediately and transparently, all those responsible in the corruption of documents and facts; and
• investigate Grupo México’s involvement in the  murder of Reynaldo Hernández González and the detention and torture of 20 SNTMMSRM members in Nacozari, Sonora.