FINLAND: The president of Finland has conferred on Per-Erik Lundh, the retired president of the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union and a former member of IMF Executive Committee, the right to use the honorary title of “Minister”. In Finland, this is a highly prestigious title, usually granted only to eminent politicians.
Lundh, the first Finnish trade unionist to have received this title, was president of the Finnish Metalworkers from 1983 to 2000, and also president of the Nordic Metalworkers. Before becoming leader of the metalworkers’ union, he was general secretary of the SAK national trade union centre.

USA: The last surviving brother of the legendary United Auto Workers (UAW) Reuther brothers will be honoured today (May 29) in Washington, D.C. with the Swedish government’s highest civilian award: the Knight of the Polar Star. Victor G. Reuther has outlived his brothers Walter and Roy Reuther, who together represented among the most influential trade unionists in the history of the U.S. labour movement.
As former European director of the Congress of Industrial Organisations and later UAW International Affairs director, Victor Reuther was involved directly in efforts to reconstruct the democratic institutions of Europe following the end of World War II. Working closely with former Swedish metalworker leader and IMF president, Arne Geijer, Victor Reuther sought to promote democratic trade unionism in postwar Europe.

PAKISTAN: In a meeting of its National Executive Committee on May 25, the IMF-affiliated All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions expressed great concern over the country’s mounting unemployment, attributing its cause to inadequate government planning.
Approximately 1.6 million young people enter Pakistan’s labour market each year, but corresponding job opportunities are not sufficient. The APFTU says that most of the jobless are found among educated young men.
Also, over the last years, the real value of wages has been greatly reduced, and far too many people – 75 per cent of the women and 50 per cent of the male population – do not have access to education. Within just a few years, those living below the poverty line have doubled, from 17 per cent to 35 per cent.
The union, criticising the government for resorting to retrenchment policies dictated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, has called for the introduction of social and economic reforms giving new job opportunities, a real boost in workers’ wages for both the private and public sectors, an increase in pension benefits for retirees and the amendment of labour laws to bring them in line with ILO Conventions ratified by the Pakistan government.
In related news, the Pakistan Workers’ Confederation has decided to observe June 7, 2001, as a day of protest against price hikes, downsizing, restrictions on trade union rights and unjustified policies of international donor agencies.

SURINAM: The IMF was shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden death on Saturday, May 19, 2001, of the president of the Surinam Bauxite Mine & Metalworkers’ Federation, Fred Derby, at the age of 61. According to the Washington Post online, Fred is said to have collapsed while playing in a soccer match, and died an hour later at the hospital, apparently of a heart attack.
Speaking on behalf of the International Metalworkers’ Federation, the regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Roberto Pereira, said that the passing of Fred Derby was an “irreparable loss, not only for his friendship but also for the permanent fight he waged to improve the collective interests of the workers in general, and his union’s members in particular.”
The loss is also one for the international trade union movement, for which Fred showed great interest and dedication. Over the years, he participated in many IMF meetings, both international and regional, and most recently has been an active member of the IMF Working Group on the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas).
The IMF extends its condolences to the family, friends and members of the Surinam Bauxite Mine & Metalworkers’ Federation.

USA: In a statement issued on May 18, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ negotiating committee for 30,000 United Airlines employees dismissed proposals by United Airlines management as insulting and said that further negotiations would be pointless.
The IAM bargaining team has called for a release from mediated negotiations and is preparing for a 30-day countdown and possible strike. A spokesman for the team, which is negotiating for members in customer service, ramp, reservations, food service, security guards and stores, declared that “United is treating its employees the same way it treats passengers — promoting high expectations and delivering nothing.”
IAM District 141 has notified the National Mediation Board (NMB) that negotiations have reached an impasse on numerous issues. The union says that besides wages, United has an obligation to deliver on all the promises it made seven years ago when workers took deep cuts to rebuild the airline. This includes industry leading pensions, job security and health benefits. “We have done our part,” declared the union’s lead negotiator. “We have built the most successful airline in the world, and we expect a share of that success.”
The 30,000 members of District 141 now join 15,000 mechanic and related employees at United who requested a release from the NMB on November 7, 2000. Both groups began negotiations with United Airlines management in December 1999.

ITALY: Speaking to the IMF’s Executive Committee, meeting in Venice, Italy, on May 22-23, the IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, has explained why it is necessary to expand activities in the ICT sector. “It is an increasingly important economic branch in which we have affiliates with a significant membership. We are meeting particular challenges from unions with well-educated members, and we are confronting unions in other economic sectors.”
The goal for the IMF is to strengthen the position of the trade unions and the IMF in the information and communications technology sector. Thus, a task force has been set up and a survey distributed to affiliates on their needs with respect to ICT, plus an IMF-ICT webpage is being prepared, to be launched very soon. In the future, an ICT e-mail network will be set up. The IMF will focus on ICT in its company and regional meetings and will also continue discussions with the Union Network International (UNI) on further cooperation.
This last point was underlined by Mari-Ann Krantz, president of the Swedish white-collar union SIF: “The IMF president and general secretary have been asked to find cooperation with the UNI.” Krantz, who also presides the IMF Non-Manual Workers’ Department, concluded that the new ICT initiative was a good one and that it was important for the IMF to cooperate also with the European Metalworkers’ Federation.

FINLAND: Ilkka Joenpalo was unanimously elected as president of the Finnish Union of Salaried Employees — TU (Toimihenkilöunioni), which was set up on May 18, 2001, in Tampere as a result of the merger of four industrial white-collar unions – the TL, STL, RAL and STAF. With a total of approximately 130,000 members, of whom 48 per cent are women, the TU represents the largest white-collar trade union in Finland.
Joenpalo, 55 years old, served as a member of Parliament from 1987 to 1991, and again from 1995 to 1997, when he became president of the TL. Helena Rissanen has been elected vice-president of the newly-formed union. Commenting on his election, Ilkka Joenpalo said that this was “a task that made one feel humble and proud at the same time.”
The TU Congress adopted guidelines for future work focussing on the following issues:
– strengthening cooperation with other white-collar workers’ unions in the country;
– in view of the enlargement of the European Union, developing links with white-collar workers in Eastern Europe, in particular the Baltic states and Poland;
– promoting equality in the world of work and at the workplace with regard to wages, gender and job opportunities;
– improving services to members, especially in the field of training, lifelong learning and skills development.

GREECE: On May 17, workers and trade unions representing the different branches of the metalworking industry were among participants in the second massive 24-hour strike within one month in Greece. The protest action, which once again brought the country to a standstill as for the earlier strike on April 26, was organised by the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE). Among the strikers’ demands are:
– the immediate tripartite financing of the social security system;
– retirement after 35 years of work, irrespective of age;
incorporation of the whole metal branch as especially hard and hazardous professions.
Workers remain determined in their opposition to government proposals to increase the retirement age, to reduce pensions, and to re-evaluate hard and hazardous jobs.
Metal branch participation in the strike was over 90 per cent.

The 30th IMF World Congress will be held in November 2001 in Sydney, Australia (Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre).
To provide its affiliates (and interested metalworkers, media, etc.) with useful information and services, a special website for the Congress has been created.
The website is divided into two areas:

• a password protected area which will facilitate easier communication with all staff of IMF affiliates who are interested in or planning to attend the Sydney Congress and Central Committee meetings;
• a public area which will offer current news reports from the Congress and much more of interest to metalworkers, media, etc.

The former, with the address www.imfmetal.org/sydneylounge, has been launched. The latter, a public area, will be launched this autumn, before the Congress.

GENEVA: During the upcoming IMF Executive Committee meeting, in Venice on May 22-23, a special website will be launched for the IMF’s November 2001 Sydney Congress. To start with, this website (linked to the main site at www.imfmetal.org) will only be available to users having a password, primarily those attending the Congress, who can access practical information contained in this “Sydney Lounge”. The main level of the Sydney website will be open to the public about two months prior to the Congress.
Among important items on the agenda for the Venice meeting will be the debate on the final draft of the IMF’s new four-year Action Programme, entitled “Dealing with Global Challenges,” to be presented for approval of the Congress in Sydney. The draft Action Programme will be available on the Sydney Lounge of the IMF’s Congess website under “Documents” following next week’s meeting.
A discussion will also take place on the initiative the IMF has launched in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The IMF-ICT Task Force is looking at such questions as the speed with which the ICT sector is growing compared with other branches of the economy, and the importance of ICT industries as a source for new jobs. What are the challenges for trade unions posed by the ICT sector, with industries which are newer than those in traditional metalworking?
The Executive Committee will hear as well a presentation by Bob Kyloh, of the International Labour Organisation, on the progress to date with the ICFTU’s “Millennium Review”. The ICFTU Durban Congress in 2000 called for a thorough and inclusive examination of international trade union priorities, strategies and structures, in order to provide the basis for more effective trade union action to transform the global economy.