GREAT BRITAIN: Workers at the Airbus plants in Filton and Broughton have agreed to cost-cutting measures in an attempt to safeguard their jobs over the next two years. Orders at the European aircraft maker fell by one-third during 2001, and it is expected that sales will also fall far short of earlier predictions for 2002.
At the Filton factory – responsible for wing design, aircraft landing gear and fuel systems, component manufacture, and wing sub-assembly – a majority of the 1,200-strong workforce voted to accept a pay cut, a 35-hour workweek, no overtime, no wage increase this year and redeployment to other departments.
Workers at Airbus’ Broughton plant, which manufactures aircraft wings, have agreed to a 35-hour, four-day workweek, and no overtime.
With this said, however, a new concern has come up regarding Airbus Military, a subsidiary of Airbus, and the possible setback for a huge defence project for 196 new Airbus 400M military transport planes, which was agreed by 8 European nations on December 18, 2001. It was reported that this 18 billion euro deal (nearly US$16 billion), said to be the largest joint venture so far in Europe’s defence industry, could be in jeopardy after the German Parliament raised problems about Germany’s pledge to buy 73, or well over one-third, of the A400M aircraft. Unions in the UK are seeking urgent talks with Airbus to find out if these reports are true, as thousands of jobs could be affected.

FEBRUARY UPDATE: It seems that the German Parliament finally agreed to stick to their pledge for the Airbus 400M military transport planes, however the Italian government has now said it is backing out of the project.

In a few months’ time, billions of people across the globe will be sitting in front of their TV sets around the clock watching what many consider to be the best entertainment of all, the FIFA World Cup football championship, which is coming up in Japan and the Republic of Korea. The goal of each participating country is to win the championship and become No. 1 in the world.
I believe this is also a great opportunity to put the Korean government and its president on the spot by reminding football fans everywhere that workers in South Korea are not enjoying much of this wonderful entertainment, especially those who are still in jail because they are trade union activists and militant trade union leaders.
During 2001 alone, 218 trade unionists were put in prison in the ROK. Some have been released, but as many as 50 are still detained and have been sentenced to long prison terms. Among them are Dan Byung-ho, president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and Mun Sung-hyun, president of the Korean Metal Workers’ Federation.
All of us would like for the World Cup to be a great celebration where people from across the globe can come together to spend a few hours in a big stadium and express his or her emotions depending on the results achieved by the various teams. And we know that large numbers of metalworkers around the world will be eager to watch the matches. We hope this happens without problems and as smoothly as possible.
The Republic of Korea is a very important country which should play a central role in the economic and social development of the entire Asian region and elsewhere. Its poor record on trade union rights will definitely have a negative impact on investors and international organisations such as the OECD, WTO and others who have to make a judgement on the Korean president and government before making decisions on investment in the country.
This is why we appeal to the Korean president to release all trade unionists in jail and to ratify International Labour Organisation conventions on basic labour standards.
On January 22, next week, metalworkers around the world are going to the various embassies of the Republic of Korea to deliver a special letter with our request to President Kim Dae-jung. We aim to get all trade unionists out of jail, not just in time to watch the football championship, but to start working again in their plants or in their union offices immediately.
This would be the best way to celebrate not only football but a return to democracy.

KOREA, REP: In Marcello Malentacchi’s latest opinion column, the IMF general secretary says that the upcoming World Cup football championship, to be co-hosted by South Korea, is not just about enjoying one of the world’s favourite pastimes but offers the possibility to put pressure on this Asian nation with regard to its poor record on trade union rights.
“I believe this is a great opportunity,” states Malentacchi, “to put the Korean government and its president on the spot.” One had to remind football fans everywhere – and amongst them large numbers of metalworkers – that the workers in South Korea do not enjoy much of this wonderful entertainment, especially those who are in jail because of their trade union activities.
Metalworkers around the world will join in putting the spotlight on this country during next week’s international day of action for the release of imprisoned trade unionists in South Korea, taking place on January 22.
To read the full text of the IMF general secretary’s new opinion column, click on the associated link.

USA/FRANCE: The United Auto Workers’ union (UAW) and the North American regional office of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) reported on January 16 that Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc. will be starting collective bargaining talks with the UAW for a first agreement covering 850 workers at the company’s plant in Worcester, Massachusetts.
This action follows a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify the UAW as the workers’ bargaining agent, denying a request by Saint-Gobain to throw out the results of an election last August in which the majority of the workers at the Worcester plant voted in favour of UAW representation.
As Saint-Gobain Abrasives is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French Groupe Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s leading glass, ceramics and materials companies, employing some 171,000 people in 45 countries, the UAW was assisted in its campaign by the two French unions which represent Saint-Gobain workers in France, as well as by the ICEM.

NORTH AMERICA: In an attempt to reduce costs and eliminate losses, Ford Motor Company confirmed on January 11 that it will slash 35,000 jobs worldwide, representing 10 per cent of its workforce, and shut down five plants. Approximately 21,500 of the job losses will be in North America. The world’s second-largest automaker also announced it will stop production by the end of this year of four vehicle models: the Ford Escort, Mercury Cougar, Mercury Villager and Lincoln Continental, reducing its North American production capacity from 5.7 million vehicles to 4.8 million.
Plants to be closed as part of the company’s restructuring plan will be: Edison Assembly in New Jersey, Ontario Truck Plant, St. Louis Assembly, Cleveland Aluminum Casting and Vulcan Forge. Two assembly plants in Avon Lake, Ohio, and Cuautitlan, Mexico, could also be added to this list in the future.
All plant closings must take account of the company’s collective contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW), effective until September of 2003, which bans plant closings, as well as a similar agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), which is in effect until the autumn of 2002.
Commenting on Ford’s restructuring plan, the UAW’s president, Steve Yokich, said: “One lesson from these hard times is the vital importance of strong collective bargaining agreements, like the current UAW-Ford national agreement, that protect workers’ rights and the economic security of their families … The UAW’s history of using constructive relationships with employers to get through tough times has been proven many times over. Despite its current problems, Ford is a fundamentally healthy company, and we are confident that it will be around for a long time to come.”
UAW vice-president, Ron Gettelfinger, who directs the UAW National Ford Department, added that “because of our contract, Ford has been required to plan its restructuring in a way that respects the seniority rights — including job placement rights, income, pension, health care, and many other protections of UAW-Ford members. We have made it clear to Ford officials that we will fully enforce our contract.”
The CAW president, Buzz Hargrove, who questioned Ford’s logic in closing its profit-making truck plant in Ontario, said his union was especially irritated by the lack of any level of Canadian government intervention in the critical situation with the auto industry in this country. “The attitude of leave-it-to-market-forces,” he stated, “will decimate our auto sector.”

GENEVA: A report entitled “Stress and Burnout – a Growing Problem for Non Manual Workers” has just been published by the International Metalworkers’ Federation.
The document, which regroups presentations made at a seminar on stress and burnout organised by the IMF and its Swedish affiliate SIF in Spring 2001, provides material to be used by unions for information and educational purposes and has been published with a view to raising awareness about this issue among trade union membership and giving it an international perspective. It offers an overview and general trends of stress and burnout, as well as the response so far of the trade unions to the increasing challenge posed by this now common feature of modern life.
“Stress and Burnout – a Growing Problem for Non Manual Workers” is available in English, German, French, Swedish, Spanish and Italian, and can be downloaded on the IMF website under “Publications” from January 15. A hard copy may be requested from IMF headquarters on Fax: ++41/22 3085055.

GREAT BRITAIN: The Manufacturing Science and Finance union, now called Amicus since its merger with the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union on January 1, says it will step up its campaign for equal pay for women in 2002 by demanding equal pay audits from 10,000 employers.
The union has sent letters to a list of companies, and those who refuse to undertake an audit will be published in a “list of shame”. The union says that by the end of 2002 it aims to check every company in the UK in the sectors it covers, to find out if women workers are getting a fair deal and to seek justice for women on pay.
A report published in the UK in December 2001 announced that the pay gap between men and women had in fact increased from 18 per cent to 19 per cent. The MSF has been campaigning for equal pay audits to be made mandatory and believes that “without compulsion companies with something to hide will not volunteer to undertake an audit.” The MSF’s Roger Lyons, who is now joint general secretary of Amicus, said it was a disgrace that 31 years after the UK’s Equal Pay Act the pay gap between men and women was increasing.
Remarking on the MSF’s campaign, Jenny Holdcroft, equal rights director at the International Metalworkers’ Federation, stated that “equal pay audits are a highly visible means of exposing discriminatory pay practices. Companies who refuse to conduct such audits deserve to be publicly shamed and forced to address the issue. We cannot afford to be complacent about equal pay when the gap between men’s and women’s earnings is again increasing, and the MSF’s campaign will expose those companies which are actively discriminating against women.”

BELARUS: Government authorities in Belarus are making new attempts to oppress the independent trade union movement in that country and place it firmly under state control. In an attack on the unions’ financial basis, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus passed a ruling in December stipulating that “trade union membership fees shall be paid personally by workers without deducting them from their wages.”
Although the decree, No. 1804, has been labelled “Measures to Protect the Rights of Trade Union Members,” its real purpose is the opposite, say the trade unions, and thus, with the persuasion of the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, the government is continuing in its efforts to weaken the trade unions.
Reacting to this new threat against workers’ and trade union rights, the president of the IMF-affiliated Automobile and Agricultural Machinery Workers’ Union (AAM), Aliaksandr Bukhvostau, insists that the Belarus metalworkers’ trade unions will persist in their struggle for an independent trade union movement. “We categorically protest against the actions of the Belarus government and appeal for solidarity support.”
The IMF calls upon its affiliated organisations to protest against this latest action of the Belarus government. Letters can be addressed to:

• A.G.Lukashenko
  President of the Republic of Belarus
  Administration of the President of Belarus
  Fax: ++375/17 2260610
  E-mail (from the official website of the president): www.president.gov.by/eng/president/
  
• Council of Ministers
  Fax: ++375/17 2226665
  
• Constitutional Court
  Fax: ++375/17 2278012
  Please send copies to:
  
• AAM
  Fax: ++375/17 2239792
  E-mail: [email protected]
  
• Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus
  Fax: ++375/17 2104337
  
• IMF
  Fax: ++41/22 3085055
  E-mail: [email protected]
  

ITALY/GLOBAL: Italy’s three national metalworkers’ unions – the FIM, FIOM and UILM, also representing the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) – signed an international framework agreement with Merloni Elettrodomestici S.p.A. on December 17, 2001, in Rome. This agreement is not only the first of its kind signed by an Italian multinational company, but also the first for the IMF and the metalworking industry worldwide.
With its signature, Merloni Elettrodomestici, Europe’s third largest producer of domestic appliances, with subsidiaries across the globe, has undertaken to comply with and promote the fundamental principles and rights at work established in conventions of the International Labour Organisation, including:

• freedom of association and the right to organise and bargain collectively;
  
• eradication of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
  
• abolition of child labour;
  
• elimination of workplace discrimination.
  

The agreement provides for the establishment of monitoring not only of the company’s own production units and activities, but its suppliers as well, which risk having their contracts cancelled in cases of grave violations. The company must report on the implementation and status of the agreement at the annual meeting of the European Works Council (EWC) and at the national information meeting provided for by the national collective contract. For countries which are not members of the EWC, representatives of the workers and trade unions at individual plants must receive this information from the local management.
The agreement also states the principle that profits must be accompanied by the wellbeing of the communities in which Merloni Elettrodomestici companies are operating.

GREAT BRITAIN: The official launch of the merger between the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union and the Manufacturing Science and Finance union – both of which are affiliated to the IMF through its British Section – took place on January 1, 2002. The new super union, called AMICUS, has a membership of approximately 1.2 million and is the biggest trade union organisation in the UK private sector and manufacturing industry.
The name AMICUS was taken from the Latin word meaning friend, supporter, wise councillor and partner. According to one of the joint general secretaries of the newly-merged union, Ken Jackson, AMICUS will be “an expert supporter to its members, a partner to business and a wise councillor to government.” Roger Lyons, also joint general secretary of AMICUS, says “we aim to organise working people in every sector of the economy.”
The new union has set aside £1 million (US$1.438 million, EUR 1.614 million) for a nation-wide recruitment drive.