SOUTH AFRICA: The GLU provides an opportunity to study and discuss the challenges of globalization in a global group of fellow trade unionists. Internships with trade union organisations and labour research institutions offer the chance to engage in labour movements internationally and in different countries.

Students will take one 14 week core course each semester. The first semester they will also take the Research Methods Seminar, an intensive short course. They will then choose from a list of courses for the first or second semester. Ideally, they will conduct fieldwork for their MA research report in the mid-year break, linked to their internships. During the second semester they will draft their research report, which will be due for submission by mid-December.

The GLU awards a limited number of scholarships for participants from developing and transition countries.  Scholarship applicants need to have the endorsement of a trade union. 

More detailed information at www.global-labour-university.org.

Application forms can be downloaded at
http://www.global-labour-university.org/54.html

The GLU network offers Masters Programmes on Labour Policies, Globalisation, Development, Economic Policy and Social Economy in Germany, South Africa, Brazil and India.

The programmes are developed by universities and workers organisations from around the world and are targeted at candidates with experience with labour and social movements.
 
The Global Labour University was established in 2004. Students from about 50 countries have studied in one of the GLU Masters programmes.

ITALY:  On July 4 at the 51st court hearing in Turin Stephan Schmidheiny, a 64 year old Swiss billionaire and Louis de Cartier de Marchienne, an 89 year old Belgian baron, owners of the Eternit group, the asbestos-cement company with plants in Europe, Africa and South America, were charged for wilful failure to protect their employees and factory neighbours, resulting in thousands of deaths from asbestos.

Specifically, the asbestos magnates were charged with wilful and deliberate environmental disaster by polluting and scattering the asbestos killer fibres and deliberate and wilful failure to implement precautions in the work place. Public prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello also made three additional demands: permanent disqualification from any public office, ban on contracts (and negotiation) with a public administration or agency and disqualification from any company management position for ten years for the defendants.

The Turin trial is the first time an asbestos related criminal lawsuit is considered in Europe. According to the investigation of the Turin Prosecutor’s office it concerns almost 3000 victims including workers who were exposed to asbestos while working at the four Italian Eternit plants in Cavagnolo, Casale Monferrato, Rubiera near Reggio Emilia and Bagnoli, near Naples, and those who lived near the plants. The plant in Casale Monferrato, in Piedmont, is responsible for 70 per cent of the victims. The alleged offenses were committed from 1952 to 2008.

All three IMF affiliates in Italy contributed to the hearing through their national centers CGIL, CISL  and UIL, together with the Italian Association of Relatives of Victims of Asbestos (AFEVA). They declared in a joint statement their confidence that “the conclusion of this trial (this autumn) will be a historic event that will increase our understanding of the quality of economic and industrial development, so that there may be justice in our country and beyond. We have waited for thirty years, and so have all those who still have to fight in three-quarters of the world where asbestos is still extracted or used, leading to further hundreds of thousands of illnesses and deaths of workers and citizens still largely unaware of the danger or criminally deceived.”

Text of the joint statement in Italian is available here.

AUSTRALIA: On 1 July, marking the second anniversary of the Fair Work Act of 2009, which makes such access legitimate, AWU National Secretary Paul Howes and three AWU organizers triumphantly met with AWU members in lunch rooms at Alcan’s Bell Bay smelter, breaking Rio Tinto’s claim that such meetings had to in administrative areas, generally parts of worksites where surveillance and management intimidation is greater.

The 550-worker Alcan smelter has been a test case in Australia over right of entry under a balanced Fair Work Act, a law that reversed many of the management rights provisions in the former Conservative government’s WorkChoices Act. It also stands as a major crossing over a threshold that will lead to full enterprise bargaining between AWU and Alcan.

The AWU, which counts a majority of Alcan workers at Bell Bay as members, also used this Fair Work Australia decision to re-boot an advertising campaign aimed at recruitment of non-union Rio workers to the union fold.

The AWU said it would use the decision to meet union members in similar surroundings at Alcan worksites in Gladstone (Boyne Island) and Yarwun, Queensland.

Fair Work Australia’s ruling also rejected Alcan’s claim that the meal rooms closer to work areas were too small for such lawful meetings under the Fair Work Act and that worker-union discussions would disrupt other workers in the break areas.

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary Jeff Lawrence said the Bell Bay decision "sends a positive message to other employers that they must respect fundamental workers’ rights to collective bargaining and union membership."

More information on ICEM website http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4530-Australia:-AWU-Wins-Correct-Access-to-Rio-Tinto-s-Alcan-Smelter here.

NEW ZEALAND: The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), New Zealand affiliate of both IMF and ICEM, and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia, together with ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, ICEM Japanese Affiliates Federation General Secretary Yoshio Sato, and Asia-Pacific Regional Contact Person Phee Jungsun joined EPMU leaders on July 1 in making the demand at Greymouth and then again the next day at the Pike River mine in New Zealand.
 
At a press briefing in Greymouth, the trade unionists said it was morally irresponsible for New Zealand’s government to allow the trustee of the mine, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to sell the mine and allow production to begin before bodies are recovered.
The ICEM delegation on 2 July laid a wreath in memory of the 29 at the Pike River colliery, New Zealand’s largest underground mine laden with seams of premium metallurgical coal.

On November 19, 2010, a horrid methane gas blast killed 29 miners, including 11 members of ICEM affiliate EPMU. It was the worst New Zealand mine disaster in 119 years, killing 24 Kiwi nationals, two Australians, two UK citizens, and one South African. A subsequent explosion occurred on November 24, after which authorities declared the miners dead.

EPMU’s O’Connell said recovery of miners’ bodies remains a priority for the union.

PricewaterhouseCoopers became receiver of the mine in January after Pike River Coal Ltd. filed for bankruptcy due to the tragedy.
PricewaterhouseCoopers had hoped to sell the mine’s assets by June, but a possible sale has now been pushed backed until later in the year.

For more information, go to http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4529-New-Zealand:-ICEM-Wants-Bodies-Recovered-from-Inside-Dea

USA: Members of both ICEM-affiliated United Electrical, Radio, Machine Workers’ of America (UE) and IMF-affiliated International Union of Electrical Workers / Communication Workers of America (IUE/CWA), representing 11,500 of those workers, approved the deal in local-by-local voting at some 40 union branches in late June.

The new collective agreement came together on the final expiry day of the past contract, 19 June. The UE-GE Conference Board of America’s independent union recommended acceptance of the four-year proposal on 23 June.

The IUE/CWA also recommended the agreement. "These were difficult negotiations in a difficult economic climate," said IUE-CWA GE and Aerospace Conference Board Chairman Bob Santamoor. "Members evaluated the package as whole and found it acceptable." Thirty-four IUE/CWA local branches, representing 7,800 GE workers, voted accumulatively by 70 per cent in separate branch referendums for overall acceptance. The UE did not announce its vote tally.

The agreement calls for a first-year bonus due this month of US$5,000, with benefit increases in proportion to that award. In June 2012, workers will get a 2.25 per cent increase, while in 2013 and 2014, wage hikes of 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent will go into effect. GE will outlay US$76 million for the first-year bonuses.

Union members will receive modest pension benefits over the life of the agreement, and will see an improved cost-of-living formula each year. That benefit represents a 12 per cent improvement over the past formula in inflation protection. The unions also won an additional sick day per year and added vacation days.

The contract also serves as the template for collective agreements for eight other US unions that represent GE workers.

For more information, go to http://www.icem.org/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4537-Four-year-GE-Pact-Takes-Effect-in-USA

SOUTH AFRICA: Wage negotiations between NUMSA and metal and engineering employers broke down when employers refused to increase their offering. Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said they had dropped the wage increase demand to 13 percent from 20 percent but still employers are offering  a seven percent wage increase, which does not constitute a real wage increase for workers. Employers are also refusing to outlaw labour brokers in the engineering sector, which is tantamount to modern slavery.

Numsa’s engineering sector coordinator, Vusi Mabho, commented on the attitude of employers; "Employers are arrogant and conservative; they think they can still sustain the previous system by treating workers as they used to during the apartheid regime. prior 1994. It is clear that employers don’t want transformation; they want to maintain status quo."
The Head of NUMSA’s collective bargaining and organising unit, Alex Mashilo said that employers would have been able to prevent the strike if they had been reasonable when considering workers demands for a decent wage and an end to the practice of using labour brokers. "The situation in South Africa has reached a point where everyone can see that employers are unreasonable. There is no reason why employers must keep on insisting using labour brokers. They exploit and abuse workers.  We want the employer to come on board to give workers their demands but they are defending the profit that they extract from workers". 

Addressing the striking workers, General Secretary of the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) Jyrki Raina said the IMF which represents 25 million workers worldwide supports the strike and believes the demands are both reasonable and necessary.

Remarking on the strike, a worker from Atlas Plastics said; "These are very difficult times for us. Once we put off our labour, employers will respond in no time. Even though they are playing hard to get, they will be affected. All I can say is that unity amongst workers can cost the employers."

Another worker from Sanji Security and Electronics thought this is one of the most successful industrial actions in the sector since 2003. "Although we are hoping that it will not take long, we wish that all our demands are achieved. It requires us to express workers power for us to achieve our demands. We note the response of the employer; seemingly, they are not prepared to meet our demands. The process of negotiations is give and take; however, we urge the negotiators not to compromise a lot without our mandate. When we go out on the streets we surely want to come back with something. We will continue to fight with that spirit to ensure that our demands are met."

The Plastics Converters Association (CPA) attempted to interdict Numsa’s industry strike on Sunday July 3 2011 in the Gauteng Labour Court but the judge dismissed the application with costs. Workers will continue to strike until their demands are met.

Viva 13% viva!

Article by Sandra Hlungwani-Numsa

Zimbabwe: The poverty datum line, a figure calculated by the Zimbabwe Consumer Council was a key argument in the demand for a 100 percent wage increase that NEWU took to the negotiating table early this year. The poverty datum line has always been used as the basis for negotiations as it assists in deciding how much a person needs in order to sustain a reasonable livelihood. The poverty datum line is at US$520, whilst workers in the lowest pay grades in the engineering sector earn only US$200 a month. Whilst the 100 percent demand may seem unreasonably high, the union has an obligation to fight for workers to earn a living wage.  

The employer body, the Engineering, Iron Steel Association of Zimbabwe (EISAZ) offered only a five percent increase at the National Employment Council (NEC) negotiations for the engineering sector, which was unacceptable to NEWU. As both parties failed to agree on the percentage increment, the matter was referred to the Ministry of Labour for conciliation. But on 5 April 2011 a certificate of no settlement was issued, after parties failed again to reach an agreement. However, at conciliation the parties agreed to refer the matter for voluntary arbitration.

At arbitration, EISAZ argued that employers were struggling to meet current wage levels, indicated by retrenchments in the sector as well as the high number of employers that had applied to the NEC for exemption on paying the minimum wage in the preceding year. NEWU countered this argument by providing evidence that the sector is performing well, based on figures of the Second Quarter 2010 Treasury Bulletin, that shows the metals and metal products sector had the highest capacity utilization of 60%. The union also argued that employers had a responsibility to workers, who have a right to earn more than poverty wages.

On 22 June 2011, the arbitrator finally handed down an award of twenty percent with effect from 1 March 2011 to 28 February 2012, saying this was a reasonable increment under the circumstances.  

Whilst the twenty percent increase is far better than the five percent offered by employers, NEWU remains committed to fighting for a living wage.  Commenting on the award, General Secretary Japhet Moyo said, "Whatever the arbitrator may have considered, the award falls far short of our expectations considering that the poverty datum line is at US$502. It is our view that the organization has to look at other non monitory benefits such housing and transport to compensate the salaries".      

Article based on a report by Miriam Chipunza, NEWU.

SOUTH KOREA: Following IMF’s recently reported visit on June 24 to the Korean National Assembly where a strong demand was forwarded to the Korean government to stop labour repression and solve the conflict at Yuseong Piston Ring (YPR) and Hanjin Heavy Industries shipyard new dramatic developments have occurred at both places.

According to the reports of the IMF affiliate Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) Hanjin workers were flushed out of the shipyard with the exception of some protesters who tied themselves to Crane 85. Private contractors hired by the Hanjin management cut off electricity and tried to limit KIM Jinsuk’s possibilities to communicate with the outer world. Ms. KIM Jinsuk is carrying out an aerial sit-in protest on a company crane. The protest has gone on for 175 days now.

The KMWU also informed IMF that the police issued arrest warrants for the YPR union leaders who staged an unlimited hunger strike in the Buddhist Jogye Temple in Seoul to bring their unjust situation to the attention of the general public.

On June 29 mass rallies took place in Seoul and Busan to protest against attacks on workers whose only crime is their wish to work under secure conditions and to have their collective bargaining rights respected.

The IMF urgently calls on all its affiliates to send letters of protest to the President of Korea, Mr. Lee Myung-bak (e-mail [email protected]) and to demand:

• To pull back riot police and private security forces occupying the workplaces at Hanjin Heavy Industries shipyard and Yuseong Piston Ring YPR factories.
• To start collective bargaining in good faith in order to withdraw unilateral mass dismissals at Hanjin.
• To lift the illegal lockout of Yuseong Piston Ring workers and to reinstate union members to their original positions in their original plants (Asan and Yeongdong YPR plants).
• To stop the persecution of Yuseong Piston Ring and Hanjin Heavy Industries union officials, union members and their sympathizers.

The IMF also calls on its affiliates to render solidarity support to the striking workers by sending messages of support to the KMWU international department at: [email protected], with copies to IMF at [email protected].

UNITED STATES: One year ago on June 28 Honeywell locked out American steelworkers at a uranium conversion plant in Metropolis, Illinois. In Metropolis Honeywell mills yellowcake uranium into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) that is frozen and then sold to companies for nuclear power applications. The  last nine months Honeywell has been using scabs provided by a contractor to do this dangerous work.

Steelworkers held a rally on Saturday, June 25, during which workers and community members once again warned of  the dangers connected to an outside workforce in their city: on 22 June, the US Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) noted 17 serious workplace safety violations against the company and its scab workers.

The OHSA cited failure to address human factors in operating valves on hydrogen fluoride tanks, failure to establish written procedures to maintain the integrity of process equipment, failure to establish and implement written procedures to manage changes to process chemicals, equipment and procedures, and a deficient incident report that did not include factors contributing to a vapor release on December 22, 2010. The 17 violations will lead to a US$119,000 fine if Honeywell is unable to negotiate that amount downward.

The issue of overtime pay after eight and twelve hours worked is central for the workers. Other issues to be resolved, but not considered deal threatening, are company insistence that workers who take Family and Medical Leave under the US federal statute, must concurrently take vacation leave; a different pension plan for future new hires; and company-paid meal allowances for staff who work overtime hours.

For more details visit http://www.icem.org/en/27-North-America/4527-Steelworkers-Mark-Year-long-Honeywell-Lockout-in-US.

MEXICO:  The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) has issued a ruling which is important for the labor movement in Mexico, as it favors freedom of association and trade union independence.  On Monday, June 20, the SCJN prohibited government authorities from interfering in any way with the free expression of the will of the workers to elect or re-elect their leaders in exercise of their full freedom of association and union independence. 

That ruling comes after the National Union of Workers (UNT) and the National Union of Miners declared that for the representative and independent unions of Mexico, it was "necessary that the SCJN amend the jurisprudence and determine that the registering authority may not deny the taking of note to a union that fulfills the formal requirements."

In the view of the National Union of Mining, Metal and Similar Workers of Mexico, with that ruling "the Justices of the Court are beginning to dispel the suspicions that a decision of the year 2000 was going to be wrongfully upheld; that decision violated the provisions of the Constitution and the Federal Labor Act, as well as International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 87, which constitutes a part of Mexican law and promotes freedom of association.

Following the ruling, the President of the SCJN, Justice Juan Silva Meza, said that the State must respect the internal elections of the unions, and "may not interfere or participate in such a way as to hinder the execution of decisions taken by its members."  He added that "it is not up to the administrative authority to judge the statutory legality of a union election."

The Miners’ union indicated that with that ruling the country was moving toward the establishment of real justice in relations between the unions of Mexico and the government.  However, it added that "there still remains pending the resolution on protection ("amparo") submitted three years ago by the National Miners’ Union, led by Brother Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, against the refusal of authorities to grant him official recognition as the head of our Miners’ Union."