BRAZIL: Around 4,100 metalworkers at Volvo in Curitiba, Brazil, went on strike for an indefinite period on the morning of Tuesday May 15 after pay talks stalled. The workers decided to take the measure at an assembly organised by the Greater Curitiba Metalworkers’ Union, affiliated to the CNTM/FS, a metalworkers’ confederation affiliated to the IMF.

The workers rejected the package offered by company management. The vehicle assembly company would not increase last week’s offer of a BRL 15,000 ($7,850US) profit-sharing payment, BRL 6,000 ($3,140US) bonus and a 2.51 per cent plus inflation pay rise. The metalworkers are angry that the company is offering the same profit-sharing payment and bonus as last year.
 
The workers are demanding a minimum profit-sharing payment of BRL 18,000 ($9,400US) now but want to wait until the annual collective bargaining deadline in September for negotiations on a pay rise, bonus and vouchers.

Union president, Sergio Butka, criticized the company for putting forward the same proposals as last year. He said the union wants to negotiate but Volvo remains inflexible and had decided not to negotiate.

SWITZERLAND: The Swiss metal union UNIA, the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) protested against the use of Rio Tinto metals in Olympic medals with an action at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne on May 14, 2012.

The action is part of a global campaign, initiated by the United Steelworkers’ Union in Canada where 780 Rio Tinto workers have been locked-out from their jobs because they refuse to allow the company to hire all new employees on a contract basis at half the wage of permanent workers.

"Rio Tinto, sponsors of the 2012 London Olympics, is providing 99 per cent of the metal for minting the London Olympic medals, tarnishing them with the company’s reprehensible labour practices," said UNIA regional secretary for Vaud, Jean Kunz.

"50 million industrial workers represented by the ICEM and the IMF strongly speak out that what Rio Tinto does in Alma, Quebec, Canada is unacceptable," said Kemal Ozkan, ICEM’s director of industry and corporate affairs. "We are here to remind the IOC to follow their fundamental principles and values and not accept sponsorship from an unfair player, Rio Tinto," he added.

"We urge the International Olympic Committee to demand that Rio Tinto to end its attacks on workers and the environment, starting with the lockout of 780 workers in Alma, Quebec, Canada, or tell Rio Tinto to get off the podium now," said Jyrki Raina, general secretary of the IMF.

 

IMF and ICEM filed a second complaint on May 10 against Rio Tinto with the London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG) urging the standards setting bodies to drop mining giant Rio Tinto as an official supplier of the 2012 London Games because of the company’s treatment of workers at one of its facilities in Alma, Quebec.

Last month, the IOC refused a request from IMF and ICEM to meet and discuss the matter, claiming it was only a matter for LOCOG. Following the action, an IOC representative met with IMF’s Raina and ICEM’s Kemal Ozkan and said the issues raised at the action would be taken into consideration.

The campaign, called, Off the Podium, is urging the IOC and LOCOG to uphold their responsibility to ensure that official suppliers to the Olympics meet minimum ethical business standards, which run contrary to Rio Tinto’s actions at the facility in Alma, Quebec.

The action in Lausanne comes just days after Australian unions held a protest outside of Rio Tinto’s AGM in Brisbane. Unions around the world are taking action to expose Rio Tinto as the anti-worker, anti-community company that it is.

For more information go to: http://www.offthepodium.org/ (English)
http://www.justiceforriotintoworkers.ca/ (English)
http://www.solidaritealma.org/ (Francais)

ARGENTINA:  The Unión Obrera Metalúrgica (UOM) has responded to industry’s refusal to meet the union’s pay demands by organising an action plan, which began with a national 24 hour strike on May 10.

The UOM, an IMF affiliate, planned a one hour stoppage for every hour of work between May 14 and May 18. However, the measure was suspended when the Ministry of Labour stipulated compulsory arbitration. Meetings to discuss the pay demands have resumed.

The UOM is calling for a 20-25 per cent pay rise and emphasises that its actions are against employers not the government.

EUROPE: With the current context and the forecasts for the months to come, the international trade union movement calls to mind that with 45 million young people entering the labour market each year, the threat of youth unemployment can no longer be ignored. On May14-15, young trade unionists from all over the world met in Guadalajara, Mexico, prior the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting, to focus the G20’s attention on the dramatic situation of young people looking for a job.

"Wage policies need to ensure that young people receive ‘the rate for the job’. Minimum wages for young workers must not be lowered – this would only spark a race to the bottom," said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.  "The rights of young workers should not be compromised through weakening their protection at work."

The International Trade Union Confederation report: "The Social Crisis Behind the Economic Crisis – the Millions of Young People Unemployed", was released at the ITUC Youth Committee meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico and looks closely at the situation of young European workers and the answers from the trade union movement to the problems they face.

Since the economic crisis began, the rise in unemployment has hit young people hard and threatens long-term growth potential, the ITUC report not only looks at the situation but also looks closely at how trade unions need to adapt to changing times. In order for young people to make their issues heard they need to integrate into trade union structures and push their issues forward.

CANADA:  The Canadian Labour Congress reports on a major break through with the decision that the Chrysotile Institute created in 1984 to lobby for the interests of Canadian asbestos producers is being dissolved. The Institute funded by the federal and Quebec governments promoted safe use of asbestos if properly handled.

Canada, a major producer of asbestos, banned its use inside the country as hazardous to Canadian citizens, but continues exporting it to developing countries including Bangladesh, India and Indonesia.

CLC supports a total prohibition of production and export of asbestos by Canada along with a just transition program for displaced workers in the industry.

Unbiased international research, including by the World Health Organization (WHO), clearly prove that chrysotile asbestos is not safe and causes mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

IMF has long been part of the battle against production and use of asbestos, arguing it is a carcinogenic substance with no possible safe use. In 2005 at the IMF World Congress in Vienna a special resolution promoting a global ban on asbestos was adopted that launched a campaign against production and use of asbestos.

As the most recent move, on the eve of the International Workers’ Memorial Day, on April 27 IMF jointly with Building Workers’ International (BWI) and unions of the Indian state Kerala have called on Kerala authorities to ban asbestos in the state. The event was jointly organized by the BWI and IMF in pursuance of the Federal State ban approach agreed upon last year.

USA: Led by National Nurses United, the rally is endorsed by  more than 100 organizations of labour activists, environmentalists and consumers many of whom are making their way to join Chicago supporters. The rally will feature a skit depicting the search for absent G-8 leaders, who fled their planned meeting in Chicago, and a performance by award-winning artist Tom Morello.

The International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) endorse demonstrations led by the National Nurses United (NNU) in Chicago calling on leaders to support the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). With the global financial crisis in 2008, financial insecurity has been felt in many countries. Governments bailed out banks, public deficits increased and austerity measures were taken, as a result creating an even more significant financial stress on communities and people.

Citizens, Grassroots organizations, NGOs and trade unions are now demanding a FTT. The FTT aims to eliminate extreme forms of speculative behaviour which have no social value, and seek better financial sector accountability. The revenues generated by FTT could fund programmes to assist those most affected by the financial crisis, alleviate poverty and fund climate action.

ITALY:  A special website http://www.storieprecarie.it/ was recently launched in Italy with the purpose of enabling young people to share their stories about problems they are facing in the workplace and in their daily lives.

Visitors are requested to fill in a questionnaire about precarious conditions they face, which according to the organizers will serve as a basis for a clearer profile of precarious workers and better understanding of the problems they face and their needs in the modern era of flexible conditions imposed on workers everywhere.

The questionnaire is composed of two parts. The first part focuses on personal stories and expectations of respondents, while the second part helps to identify their sociological portrait. Collected through the website, the results will be studied by professors and researchers at Sapienza University in Rome and later presented at the annual international festival of journalism organized by the Italian weekly information magazine Internazionale in Ferrara on October 5 to 7, 2012, coinciding with World Day for Decent Work on October 7

The site was launched in the start of May and will remain active until June 20. Over 500 stories have already been communicated since the launch of the site. The initiative is promoted by the Internazionale magazine jointly with the Italian trade union confederation CGIL aiming to raise awareness of the general public about the problem of precarious work as part of the union campaign against precarious work in Italy.

COLOMBIA: The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) Colombia Coordinator Carlos Bustos reports that a two-day seminar of young trade unionists from the three Global Union Federations (GUFs) that next month will form IndustriALL came to important conclusions last week. The participation of 20 trade unionists under the age of 30 brought young men and women together from throughout Colombia on May 10 and 11.

Participating unions included International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF)affiliates Utramicol and Fetramecol, and Martina Sanguinetti of the Uruguayan Metalworkers (UNTMRA). Also participating were representatives of ICEM, and CUT and CTC national labour centres.

The meeting sought to find ways to increase the active participation of youth. A key issue for participants was not for them to be consulted more, but to be centrally involved in decision-making and to be involved and represented at all levels inside unions. This includes deciding the politics and the future of the Colombian trade union movement.

A commitment was reached to establish a permanent network for communication and information.

The joint youth project of the three GUFs that also included the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF) and was funded by the Finnish Solidarity Organisation, SASK. This project will connect similar processes that are ongoing in Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Nicaragua with that in Colombia.

ICEM project coordinator Patricio Sambonino evaluated the two-day Colombian seminar, saluting the important contribution and participation of the young trade unionists, moving towards generational change for the movement.

SOUTH KOREA: Lee Yunjeong  aged 32 has tragically become the latest victim in a long line of young workers who have died of cancer-related illnesses after working on the production of semiconductors at Samsung in Korea. She leaves behind a husband and two children. Lee Yunjeong worked in the Samsung semiconductor Assembly & Test factory in Onyang for six years from 1997 to 2003, and was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer in 2010.

According to SHARPS, the organization which has been campaigning on behalf of workers suffering from occupational diseases like leukemia or lymphoma, 140 Samsung workers have contracted work-related diseases and 55 of them have died.

In June 2011, the Seoul Administrative Court made a landmark ruling that, in the case of two workers who died, recognized the link between the leukemia that killed them and their work at Samsung and established that the families should receive compensation for their deaths. Samsung and Korean government  refused to accept this decision and the company continues to deny responsibility and oppose all applications from Samsung workers for compensation, with the result that Lee Yunjeong  received no compensation.
 
IMF affiliate KMWU, which has long struggled to organize Samsung workers in the face of fierce opposition by the company, will join KCTU and SHARPS at Lee Yunjeong ‘s funeral on May 10 to bring public attention to the tragic loss of young lives at the hands of Samsung. IMF is joining these organizations in calling on Samsung and the Korean government to compensate all victims and stop violating the rights of Samsung workers.

USA: Developing an action plan that works is one of the major challenges for any trade union network. The Alcoa network appears to have a mechanism that is bringing results. By holding its network meetings prior to the annual shareholders’ meeting the unions have been able to establish a forum to meet with Alcoa executives. In additionto attending the network meeting, unions also attended the shareholders’ meeting where they reported on their initiative.

A series of side meetings with Alcoa executives also took place to try and resolve some ongoing concerns of unions. One such example is Alcoa’s review and possible closure of the Point Henry Smelter in Australia. Trade union leaders from the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) questioned Alcoa’s CEO during the network meeting and subsequently met with executives to discuss the future of the plant. AWU Delegate Brett Noonan from Point Henry also asked for a commitment from Alcoa to support the plant from the floor of the shareholders meeting. The AWU hopes that this pressure will encourage Alcoa executives to rethink their strategy and find a workable solution with local unions to secure the long term future. Other concerns raised by the network included union recognition rights in Brazil.

Alcoa is the world’s largest aluminum company it has 61,000 employees across 31 countries. Aluminum is a growth industry and in 2011 global demand increased by 10 per cent. In particular Alcoa has benefitted from developing new products to meet demand in the aerospace and the auto industry. But despite its success employment has been cut dramatically from the 142,000 direct employees who were in the company in 2000.

The global network also expressed its support for the organizing activities being carried in Howmet, Norfolk and Traco in Cranberry in the United States.  The global network has committed to supporting both of these activities and informed Alcoa executives that they will closely monitor the situation during the organizing drives.

Rob Johnston Executive Director stated, "Alcoa is a unionized company and it should be proud of that fact. If workers in a non-union plant decide to organize and join the majority then we have a responsibility to support them in their decision."

The global  union network meeting was attended by 40 participants from 10 countries.