GERMANY:   IG Metall Küste and the regional Employers’ Association Nordmetall, which Caterpillar is part of, agreed to endorse the pilot agreement reached in Baden-Württemberg. As a result, Caterpillar workers in Kiel and Rostock in Northern Germany will receive  a 4.3 per cent wage increase – the highest wage deal in two decades. The pay rise took effect on May 1, 2012 and will apply until April 30, 2013. With the inflation rate currently hovering at two per cent, the rise in wages and salaries represents an important boost to workers’ purchasing power. 

The agreement also covers workers at the former Bucyrus and Motoren-Werke-Mannheim (MWM)  facilities in Germany that Caterpillar acquired in 2011, following a similar endorsement by the bargaining partners in North-Rhine Westphalia. 

In addition to the pay rise, the agreement provides for better job security for apprentices.  Works Councils have also secured co-determination rights to restrict the use of agency workers.  What is more, agency workers will receive additional bonuses linked to length of service and companies will have to offer them a permanent job after they have been employed for 24 months.

IG Metall Küste and Nordmetall also agreed to intensify and develop activities for disadvantaged young people.  A common fund  will be set up to finance qualification projects for underprivileged young people.  Sponsorship with selected secondary schools in socially deprived areas is also being planned to support young people in transition from school to work.

The agreement was reached following several days of warning strikes across Germany.  Commenting on the outcome of the negotiations, Monika Schilling, member of the Steering Group of the IMF Caterpillar Network, stated that "the warning strikes in which Caterpillar workers also participated have greatly contributed to reaching this result, in particular concerning the issue of apprentices and agency workers".  Today Caterpillar employs some 4,500 workers in Germany. 

BELARUS: REPAM president Gennady Fedynich, branch president Igor Komlik and Praca-by.info editor Natalia Vereschagina were taken off the train on Belarus-Luthuanian border on May 25. They were returning from Vilnius, where they took part in consultations with Lithuanian unions on the subject of the IMF-ICEM-ITGLWF merger.

Fedynich, Komlik and Vereschagina were subjected to personal search. Customs officers took their money, Vereschagina’s laptop and modem for ‘examination’. It was stated in the official customs record that the computer and modem had been taken to be examined for ‘extremist materials’.

Customs officers admitted in an informal conversation that they acted on the orders ‘from above’. Fedynich, Komlik and Vereschagina were released in four hours. They had to get back to Minsk by car.

“This is an outrage,” said Fedynich. “Not only did they ruin all our plans, they subjected us to a humiliating personal search and, having found nothing illegal, took our personal money and the computer. What is more, we had to devise a plan of how to get out from the border almost at midnight. This is pure mockery. We understand that they try to scare us, but the only thing I have to say is this — they will fail.”

Belarus authorities promised to return the computer to Vereschagina in a month, if no ‘extremist materials’ are found.

Fedynich was already detained in the same circumstances on the Belarus border on February 21.

On October 26, 2011, on the eve of the IMF regional conference in Prague, Fedynich was detained in the Minsk airport. Thus he was unable to take part in the conference. On the following day, October 27, the delegates of the conference unanimously voted on a resolution condemning the actions of Belarus authorities against Gennady Fedynich.

In May 2010 there was a search in REPAM’s office in Brest (Belarus). The computers and office equipment were seized. They were returned more than a year later, in a non-operating state.

UNITED KINGDOM: Unite the Union is to hold urgent talks with Hewlett-Packard as of 24 May 2012 to safeguard up to 1,600 jobs under threat at its UK operations.

Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest maker of personal computers, is to cut 27,000 jobs across the globe by the end of 2014. Unite believes that up to eight per cent of the UK’s workforce of 20,000 are under threat and use every means possible to protect those jobs.

Unite has about 4,500 members working for the company, including computer programmers, desktop support, software engineers and software architects.

Earlier, Unite the Union announced on May 16 that it had negotiated for delayed compulsory layoffs of staff at the IT services company CSC, giving as many at-risk staff as possible the chance to find jobs elsewhere.

The company has also now embarked on an undertaking to invite other IT companies to share job vacancies with a view to finding other employment for redundant employees.

CSC announced two rounds of cuts this year, totalling an estimated 1,100 jobs. CSC’s first announcement of compulsory layoffs prompted a national protest of Unite’s CSC members on April 19, which increased the pressure on the company to find alternative solutions for staff.

GERMANY: On May 22, 2012 IG Metall reached a settlement with temporary work agencies that commits them to paying additional bonuses for temporary workers employed in the metal sector. The agreement,  which was made with two temporary agency industry associations, the BAP and IGZ, provides for a series of bonuses linked to length of service. Starting at 15% of salary after six weeks of employment, the bonuses rise to a maximum of 50% of salary after nine months’ service. This will give skilled workers  between €246-819 additional income per month. The ‘sectoral bonuses’ are designed to recognize the higher salaries received by direct workers in the metal industry and go a long way towards closing the pay gap between agency workers and direct employees, in line with IG Metall’s goal of ‘equal pay for equal work’.

Welcoming the agreement, Helga Schwitzer, IG Metall’s Executive Director and leader of the negotiations, said "The bargaining parties have made an important contribution to greater fairness in temporary employment agencies." She went on to recommend that other industrial sectors pursue similar agreements.

This agreement builds on the success of earlier agreements struck by IG Metall which oblige employers to negotiate with workers when they want to engage temporary workers and to offer permanent employment to temporary workers after they have been employed for 24 months, at the latest.

BRAZIL: On May 18, after three days on strike, 4,100 metalworkers at Volvo’s plant in Curitiba, in the state of Paraná, won the country’s highest pay rise, according to the trade union research organisation DIEESE. They won a package worth BRL 25,000 (US$12,650), including a profit-sharing payment, a bonus and a pay rise worth three per cent plus inflation.
 
The agreement on the profit-sharing payment and the bonus will inject BRL 102.5 million (approximately US$52 million) into the Paraná economy, says DIEESE. Last year, the value of the package increased by 19.04 per cent. In 2011, Volvo metalworkers won a profit-sharing payment of BRL 15,000 (US$7,600) and a bonus worth more than BRL 6,000 (US$3,000), making a total of BRL 21,000 (US$10,630).

The first instalment of this year’s payment of BRL 12,500 (US$6,250) will be paid in the week May 21-27. The second instalment will be paid in February 2013. The real pay rise of three per cent will be applied to wages and vouchers in September, when the new annual collective agreement comes into force.

The workers voted for the agreement at an assembly addressed by the president of the Greater Curitiba Metalworkers’ Union, Sergio Butka, who praised the spirit of struggle and the degree of mobilisation of Volvo workers. "Once again, the metalworkers at this company have showed they are aware of their worth and showed their capacity to organise and struggle for what is fair”, he said.

Within the next 30 days, the union and the company will discuss targets for the profit-sharing scheme.
The Volvo plant employs 3,100 workers in the factory and 1,000 in the administration sector. Daily production is eight buses, 40 light trucks and 68 heavy lorries for the domestic market and for export markets in Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico and other countries.
 
PK Cables

Metalworkers at PK Cables also won a package of benefits, including a profit-sharing payment (BRL 4,500 (US$2,280) for achieving 100 per cent of company targets). The first instalment will be paid in June this year. The three per cent plus inflation pay rise and the BRL 2,500 (US$1,270) bonus will be paid when the new collective agreement comes into force. Most metalworkers agreed with the proposal at the assembly convened by the union.

PK Cables is located in Curitiba, manufactures wiring systems and employs approximately 800 workers.

KAZAKHSTAN: Industrial dispute at ArcelorMittal Temirtau continues. The management still refuses to meet the union’s demands and raise wages by 30 per cent. On May 19 ArcelorMittal workers took to the streets in an action which gathered 3,000 people.

On May 17-18, two rounds of tripartite negotiations took place. The management rejected the unions’ demands and made an alternative offer. Instead of implementing a 30 per cent wage rise, the company suggested to raise wages by 7.4 per cent (official inflation figure for 2011) and introduce a 2.6 per cent premium, which will only be paid if certain production goals are met. The employer also offered to resume negotiations on September 1, 2012.

The unions didn’t agree to this offer and held a sanctioned rally in Temirtau (Kazakhstan) in support of their demands. According to the management, in the first half of 2011 wages have averaged 115,600 tenge (US$780) in the steel department and 128,700 tenge (US$870) in the coal department.

Towards the end of the rally ArcelorMittal workers adopted a resolution and letters to the president’s administration, parliament, government, Nur Otan (ruling party), ArcelorMittal Temirtau management, regional and city authorities.

GERMANY: With a 4.3 per cent pay rise for 800,000 workers effective from May 1, 2012, IG Metall finished their bargaining negotiations in the early hours of May 19 after marathon talks and powerful warning strikes of their membership. It´s the biggest pay rise in 20 years and more than double the inflation rate, representing a real increase of salary for the workers.

IG Metall also negotiated two other very important issues: regulation of agency work and a job guarantee for apprentices.

On agency work a real codetermination right for the Works Councils was agreed if the employer intends to hire agency workers. The Works Council now has the right to object to the use of agency labour and, if disputed, the employer has to go to court. The other option for employers is to negotiate an optional agreement on agency labour including regulating the number of agency workers engaged, limits on the time period and agreement on wages. The expectation is that most employers will choose the optional agreement giving Works Councils a real codetermination right to restrict agency work and to guarantee equal pay.

Another success in the new agreement is job guarantees for apprentices. According to the agreement, the employer must agree with the Works Council on the further need for staff and then must offer open-ended employment to the agreed number of apprentices. Alternatively, if such an agreement doesn´t exist, the employer must discuss with the Works Council the actual need for staff six month before the apprenticeships end and then offer the agreed number of apprentices open-ended employment and for the others offer a job for a minimum of one year. Three months before ending this time the employer must again negotiate with the Works Council on whether there is need for additional staff and therefore an opportunity to offer more apprentices open-ended employment.

BELGIUM: The European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF), the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers’ Federation (EMCEF) and the European Trade Union Federation for Textiles, Clothing, Leather and Footwear (ETUF-TCL) formally merged in Brussels on 16 May to become IndustriAll European trade union.

More than 550 delegates and guests at the founding congress witnessed the creation of the new organization that represents 7 million workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, textile, clothing and leather industries in Europe.

"IndustriAll European trade union will draw its clout not merely from strength of numbers but from our clear resolve to be a powerful, purposeful and effective player in the European political arena in order to best represent the interests of industrial workers in Europe," stated Michael Vassiliadis, the newly elected president. Vassiliadis is president of the chemical, energy and mineworkers union IGBCE of Germany.

"IndustriAll European trade union stands for a change of course for Europe," declared Ulrich Eckelmann, elected General Secretary. "Europe needs sustainable industrial growth, more jobs and improved job security, greater participation rights for workers and citizens, and greater solidarity and fairness in distributing income and wealth in Europe."

The founding congress adopted a political resolution that lays the foundation for work in four key policy areas: industrial policy, company policy, collective bargaining and social dialogue. The resolution calls for an end to austerity policies and investment in economic growth. The work on multinational companies will focus on the coordination of some 600 European Works Councils (EWC).

The congress elected as vice presidents Valeria Fedeli (Filctem-CGIL, Italy), Anders Ferbe (IF Metall, Sweden) and Renzo Ambrosetti (UNIA, Switzerland), and as deputy general secretaries Bart Samyn (EMF), Sylvain Lefebvre (EMCEF) and Luc Triangle (ETUF-TCL).

IndustriALL European trade union will be governed by an executive committee where all the 200 affiliated unions have a seat, and a smaller steering committee.

The European merger will be followed by the creation of IndustriALL Global Union at the world level on June 18-20 in Copenhagen.

MEXICO:  On May 15, four hooded individuals in a van kidnapped the labour and human rights defender, José Enrique Morales Montaño, a member of the Workers’ Support Centre (Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador, CAT).

At approximately 1pm, Morales set off to attend a hearing at the Local Conciliation and Arbitration Board in the city of Puebla, in connection with a case in which CAT is defending a group of textile industry workers. He was kidnapped at approximately 5pm and tortured.  The kidnappers repeatedly held a gun to his head and threatened to kill him. At approximately 5am on the next morning, he was left on the Puebla-Veracruz highway. The kidnappers stole his mobile phone and rucksack. The death threats continued. During the morning, Blanca Velásquez, CAT director took a telephone call on behalf of José Enrique. "You are going to die, dog", said the caller.
 
The kidnapping took place in a context of systematic harassment and serious threats against CAT. Other members of the CAT team are clearly at imminent risk. Regrettably, this is not the first time that CAT members and offices have been attacked or the first time its members have been threatened. CAT has been subjected to harassment since 2008, mainly by multinational companies. CAT is a non-governmental organisation, which promotes and defends labour rights. Its work has highlighted the precarious working conditions to which workers are subjected on a daily basis.

The IMF expresses its concern and indignation that labour and human rights defenders have to work in a climate of harassment and that their physical integrity is often violated simply because they are exercising their right to defend human rights.
 
The IMF therefore supports the following demands and asks its affiliates to take solidarity action and call on the authorities to:

• Guarantee the life, physical integrity and security of José Enrique Morales Montaño and the other members of  CAT.
• Fulfil their obligation to conduct an effective and vigorous investigation that meets the highest international standards, into this attack and the repeated threats, identify those responsible for the kidnapping, beating and robbery of Enrique Morales Montaño and the threats against him and other members of CAT and prosecute and punish them in accordance with the law.
• Ensure application of the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels" and Article 12.2, which states that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration" (Art. 12.2)

LabourStart launched a special campaign in support of CAT members. To send a letter through the LabourStart go to: http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1393

BRAZIL: Trade unionists from several Brazilian states met for the Fourth National Meeting of the ArcelorMittal Workers’ Network at the company’s Monlevade plant on May 3-4. The Metalworkers’ Union (Sindmon-Metal) coordinated the meeting, which aimed to use the network to promote an exchange of experiences between steel industry workers and discuss the dismissals at the local plant caused by suspension of expansion plans.

Manuel Campos, the officer responsible for IMF networks in Brazil, Luiz Carlos da Silva, president of Sindmon-Metal, Geraldo Magela Werneck from the Juiz de Fora union and Everaldo dos Santos from the Osasco union gave a press conference, where they spoke about the discussions at the meeting.

Since last year, the company has dismissed around 800 directly employed workers, including 104 at the Monlevade plant (18 in May 2011, 46 in August and 40 in January 2012.

During their visit to the plant, trade unionists praised the company’s structure but criticised the existence of two canteens at the plant, one for direct employees and another for contract workers. "There is only one canteen at all the company’s other Brazilian plants. We are shocked that a company that claims to be socially responsible is making such an elementary mistake," said Geraldo Werneck.

The group was informed that planned expansion of the plant has been suspended and more workers may lose their jobs. The meeting also discussed other issues such as health and safety and company profit-sharing schemes.
 
The aim of these meetings is to reduce the disparities between the plants and increase the dialogue between the company and the unions.