FINLAND: Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone producer by volume, announced on March 23 that it will begin negotiations with unions in late April regarding restructuring of the company.

The announcement came after Nokia decided it will replace the Symbian operating system in its mobile phones with Microsoft’s software.

The talks concern 16,000 employees in Finland and elsewhere who fear that the change could result in many job cuts. The company stated that product development will now be restructured globally, not only in Finland.

More than a month ago IMF-affiliated trade union Pro demanded that Nokia pay proper compensation to all those who will lose their jobs. Antti Rinne, the President of Pro, said that individual compensation sums should be around EUR100,000 in order to reach the same level that Nokia applied when serving notice on a large number of employees in Bochum, Germany back in 2008. (See Metal World No. 2, 2008 for more details.)

Independent trade union journalist Juhani Artto reports that last autumn Nokia paid out almost EUR5 million to its CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo when he was sacked. And Stephen Elop, the new and current CEO, was welcomed to Nokia with an entry bonus of over EUR5 million.

SOUTH AFRICA: Bridgestone South Africa locked out workers at two production sites on March 22 date in Brits and Port Elizabeth. In a statement to the press, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) have taken this move as a declaration of war by Bridgestone in retaliation to wage increases achieved by workers in September 2010.

Bridgestone’s lock-out of workers originates from the unresolved dispute between Bridgestone and NUMSA, relating to the "red-circle rate" increases set out in the new Tyre Manufacturing Industry Bargaining Council collective agreement of September 28, 2010. The workers at Bridgestone who are "red-circled" have not seen a wage increase since 2009, despite the company posting huge profits on the back of the workers’ labour.

Numsa is demanding Bridgestone pay:

• nine per cent for Year 1 based on the minimums of their respective grade with back pay given from 1 July 2010 as per the industry.
• 7.5 per cent or CPI (whichever is the greater) based on the minimums of their respective grades for Year 2 and Year 3.
• A cash lump sum equal to the difference between an across the board (ATB) increase on the actual wage rate and the amount received the period 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011.

Numsa indicated it will take further action in support of its demands.

MEXICO: The parliamentary members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) presented a labour reform bill on March 10, which has gained full support of the ruling National Action Party (Partido de Accion Nacional, PAN) and, if introduced, will substantially erode workers’ rights in Mexico.

The proposed bill, which has the open support of leading industrialists, is set to be fast-tracked in the Mexican parliament for adoption possibly as early as this week.

If introduced, the fundamental effects of the proposed changes to Mexico’s labour laws will be to lower the cost of labour, maintain widespread corporate control of labour relations, destroy job security and increase poverty and violate worker and human rights in Mexico.

Some of the features of the changes include:

• Giving preference in law to an employers’ right to enter into individual contracts with workers over collective or union contracts,
• Reducing the burden and costs on the employer in the case of unfair dismissals for instance by limiting the payment of loss of wages to no more than 12 months, when currently the delay of Labour Boards hearing cases is frequently up to four or five years,
• Giving extensive and unilateral rights for the outsourcing and subcontracting of work with no protection for workers. The proposals on subcontracting will enable employers to hide and evade their responsibilities, preventing workers from employment security, the right to join a union, the possibility to negotiate fair wages and access to social security provisions,
• Maintaining the status of "protection contracts" and enabling further fragmentation of unions through the use of outsourcing, subcontracting, temporary and conditional contracts for young workers,
• Directly violating the right to freedom of association by establishing in law the principle of enterprise-only based unions by cancelling the legal existence of cross-sectoral affiliations to national union structures, which contravenes international labour rights conventions and the Mexican constitution,
• Allowing for unilateral setting of wages to the detriment of workers, including effectively abolishing the concept of a minimum wage and allowing for the employer to impose work conditions with no possibility for review,
• Freedom to adjust working hours, regardless of whether stipulated in a contract, enabling employers to make changes daily based on the needs of production, and
• Removing from the labour code to a purely administrative classification the right to access social security on the basis of ill-health or permanent injury at work.

The PRI initiative will severely undermine the establishment of democratic unions and strengthens the corporate control over workers. For example, the additional requirements placed on workers when demanding a collective agreement or when taking strike action will expose them even further to retaliation before their representative legitimacy can be established.

The International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) strongly opposes the proposals put forward by the PRI and is currently consulting with all trade union partners in Mexico and elsewhere on what action to take in opposition to this bill and will soon call for international solidarity support on this basis.

For more information about the situation in Mexico and recent international action in defence of trade union rights in Mexico go to: http://www.imfmetal.org/mexico2011

SLOVENIA: The International Metalworkers’ Federation joins with the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (AFTUS) in calling for letters of protest in the face of the Slovenian government’s plans to bring into force a new form of precarious work, which will substantially reduce workers’ rights.

The Slovenia government is proposing new legislation that would allow the unemployed, students and pensioners up to 60 hours per week and 720 hours per year of employment but with less rights, such as lower pay, no reimbursement of work-related costs (meals during work, travel to and from work, business trips), no remuneration for sick leave or parental leave, no holiday allowance, no severance pay and no annual holidays.

"We are certain that enforcement of this form of work will increase precarious work, decrease employment for indefinite time (which is the rule today) or fixed-term employment (which should be an exception but is becoming a rule), increase social exclusion and poverty, all in the name of better competitiveness," writes the AFTUS:

"It will particularly affect women and workers in service sector. We are certain that this form of work will become a cheap and administratively uncomplicated substitute for contractual employment and it will rather be a wall instead of a bridge to a better paid and socially more secure job in the future," AFTUS says.

In defense of workers’ rights, the AFTUS collected more than 40,000 signatures of support for a referendum, that will be on April 10, 2011, and is conducting a public campaign on the issue. However they are facing strong opposition after the government adopted changes to the country’s Elections and Referendum Campaign Act enabling it to use is 100,000.00 EUR of its campaign, which is three times higher than the trade unions budget.

"AFTUS strongly opposes enforcement of this new form of precarious work, which will substantially reduce worker’s rights. We urge you to support our efforts and send your protest letters to Slovenian Prime Minister, to Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs and to President of National Assembly."

In its letter to the Slovenian government the IMF called on the Slovenian government to discontinue with its plans to deny workers their rights by introducing a new form of precarious work.

"Your plans to restrict the employment rights of the unemployed, students and pensioners will inevitably undermine permanent employment, prevent families from planning for their future, widen the gap between rich and poor, and will affect women and young people the most," said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina.

IMF affiliates are urged to send letters of protest against this new form or precarious work to:

Mr Borut Pahor
Prime Minister
Government of the Republic of Slovenia
Gregorčičeva 20, 25
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: +386 1 478 16 07

Ivan Svetlik, Ph.D.
Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs
Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs
Kotnikova 5
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: +386 1 369 78 32

Pavel Gantar, Ph.D.
President of National Assembly
National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia
Šubičeva ulica 4
1102 Ljubljana
Slovenia
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: +386 1 478 94 45

Please send copies of your protest to the following e-mail or fax number:
AFTUS e-mail: [email protected]

Fax: + 386 1 231 72 98

 

ROMANIA:  On March 16, some 8,000 trade unionists came out to the Constitution Square of Bucharest to protest against Government proposed changes to Romanian labour laws.

According to the letter of the International Trade Union Confederation ITUC sent to the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, the “Government proposals will severely limit the possibility for setting up new grass roots organisations and will undermine representativity of organisations on different levels by effectively decentralising collective bargaining and tying it primarily to company-level negotiations. The changes will further dilute the protection of workers’ rights on the individual level by opening to abuse the regulations on fixed-term contracts, shifting the burden of proof from the employer to the worker, and imposing more “flexible” schemes for working-time arrangements.”

The protest action was organized by five trade union confederations including Cartel Alfa whose member Trade Union Federation METAROM is also an IMF affiliate.

The protesters carried signs and banners protesting against the suggested changes and accused the president of the country, Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Emil Boc on imposing the changes without consultation. “Save the Labour Code!”, “Down, down, down with the lying Government!”, “Down with Basescu slavery”, “Leave us be!” some of the banners read.

The trade unions warn that this action is the beginning of a series of industrial protests in case the Government applies the changes. The unions have already started collection of signatures to hold a general strike.

Railway workers expressed their solidarity with the protesters; several hundreds of them came to Bucharest in order to voice their displeasure with the Government’s plans. The Romanian Railways (CFR) protested by stopping all traffic for two hours.

The protest action accompanied the Romanian Parliament center-left opposition no-confidence vote against the Prime-Minister Emil Boc, however the vote did not gather the required majority.

The European Commission is considering if the applied changes are in compliance with the legislation of the European Union. During his meeting with the Romanian MEPs Laszlo Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion expressed his concerns over the proposed amendments to the Labour Code.

Later the Romanian Social and Democratic Party (PSD) issued a press-release warning that Romania risks facing the EU infringement procedure for lack of social dialogue.

JAPAN: IMF-JC reports that after receiving many messages of solidarity from around the world, a special co-ordination meeting of JTUC-RENGO, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, decided to set up a special account to receive solidarity donations.

IMF-JC supports this unified receiving of donations through JTUC-RENGO, as it will more effectively concentrate trade union efforts in responding to the needs of members following the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011.

Donations will go towards union members and their families that have lost so much due to the tragedy.

The account will be managed centrally through JTUC-RENGO, and IMF-JC requests that any IMF affiliates sending donations to the account should put "IMF" at the end of the name under "sender" and notify IMF-JC at:
e-mail: [email protected]
fax: +81 3 3274 2476

The bank details are as follows:

Bank Name: MIZUHO BANK, LTD
SWIFT Address: MHBK JP JT
Branch Name: Roppongi Branch
Branch Address:  15-7, Roppongi 7-Chome
   Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
   JAPAN
A/C Name: JTUC-RENGO
A/C No: 053-2929075
Please indicate purpose of the remittance as follows.
PURPOSE: Earthquake

IMF encourages its affiliates to show solidarity to trade union members and the people of Japan by donating to this special account.

NORWAY: On March 15, the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union (ICEM) and their Norwegian affiliates Fellesforbundet and IndustriEnergi signed a Global Framework Agreement (GFA in ICEM’s term; International Framework Agreement (IFA) in IMF’s term) with Norsk Hydro ASA in Oslo.

The agreement covers provisions on freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, discrimination, forced labour, child labour, health and safety, wages, working hours, employment conditions, skills training, HIV/AIDS, and environmental conditions, referencing the standards as established by the core labour conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Norsk Hydro ASA was established more than 100 years ago and today it is a leading global supplier of aluminium products and energy solutions. The Hydro companies have a total of 23,000 workers in more than 40 countries worldwide. The production facilities are mainly located in Europe, North America, Australia and Qatar.

In addition to the agreement, the parties agreed to establish a working group on the U.S. legislation and U.S. practices related to freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. The conclusions of this group’s work will provide a basis for the revision of the GFA in 2012.

The parties also committed to work together to build an open channel of network which ensures implementation of the GFA in all Hydro’s workplaces.

A copy of the agreement in English is available on the IMF and ICEM website.

Also see:

http://www.fellesforbundet.no/Nyhetsarkiv/Publisert-i-2011/Historisk-global-konsernavtale-i-Hydro/

http://www.hydro.com/en/Press-room/News/Archive/2011/March/Hydro-signs-global-frame-agreement-with-unions/

JAPAN: The International Metalworkers’ Federation sent a letter of condolence and solidarity to IMF-JC following the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit in the Tokohu area of the eastern part of Japan on March 11, 2011.

Registering at 9.0 magnitude it was the biggest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, the fifth biggest earthquake in the world since 1900, generating potentially damaging tsunamis across the Pacific.

The full extent of the loss of life and damage is still unknown. Of particular ongoing concern at the moment are the nuclear power plants in the region. The brave workers at the Fukushima Power Plants are risking their lives working to contain the difficult situation following explosions at reactors 1 and 3

"The world has been shocked by the devastation and terrible loss of life from the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Metalworkers from around the world express solidarity and send their condolences to workers and their families who have lost so much at this tragic time," wrote IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina in a letter of solidarity to Japanese union members and their families.

Many auto and steel plants in the region, as well as small- the medium-sized metal industrial plants, have been affected by the quake. Japanese manufacturers, already struggling with the effect of the quake in their own operations, are now also dealing with rolling blackouts taking place across greater Tokyo, due to the shortage of power.

The damage to infrastructure and power cuts, which are expected to continue into April, are also impacting on transportation causing many employers to urge employees to stay at home.

The IMF-JC reports that it is prioritizing an investigation into the situation for its members and their families, which will take some time given the massive scale of the tragedy. This tragic event has also occurred right before IMF-JC’s annual ‘spring wage struggle’. As a result the IMF-JC Unified Response Day, scheduled to take place on March 16, will not be using the word "Unified" this time, and will have flexibility for those unions which are facing difficulty given the quake.

The top officers of IMF-JC will also participate in an extraordinary meeting of RENGO, the national trade union centre, which has been called to determine how trade unions in Japan and around the world can best respond to the crisis, including the possible formation of union volunteers, and an aid fund. The IMF will report to its affiliates on the outcome of this meeting as soon as possible.

In the meantime, IMF affiliates are advised to please direct messages of solidarity to:

Koichiro Nishihara
President
IMF-JC
[email protected]

Fax: +813 3274 2476

CC: [email protected] , [email protected]

CHILE: Immediately following the successful rescue of 33 copper miners in Chile on October 13, 2010, President Sebastián Piñera proclaimed to the world that within 90 days Chile would begin reformation of its frayed and massively de-centralised mine safety laws, as well as adopt global mine safety standards, namely ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention.

Early this year in Santiago, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy & Mine Workers‚ Federation (ICEM) met with senior leaders of the Piñera administration. The Chilean officials were blunt and candid: the government will pursue neither internal revisions or adopt global mine safety standards.

This week the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) has joined with ICEM in calling on its affiliates and activists around the world to demand reform. The action includes a LabourStart campaign where you can send messages directly to the Chilean government demanding it improve health and safety in the mining industry and ratify ILO Convention 176.

Trade unions affiliated to the IMF are also encouraged to send a letter on their union’s letterhead (a copy of the letter is published here in English, French, Spanish and Russian) and do three things:

1. e-mail it to: [email protected], [email protected]
2. fax it to: +56 2 687 9339 / +56 2 690 4138
3. post it to:

Honourable Sebastián Piñera
Republic of Chile
Palacio de La Moneda
Teatinos 120 Pisa 9
8340382 Santiago
Chile

Please also be sure to e-mail a copy to: [email protected]

Both ICEM and IMF believe that the principles inside Convention 176 can and will provide the framework for revising the mine safety laws in Chile. For example, there is no room now for trade union health/safety committees to play a role in Chile’s mining industry. That is an inherent part of Convention 176. And it is a universal fact that when a union safety committee is engaged with a mining company and an official regulatory agency, the risks in mining get reduced dramatically.

UNITED STATES: Members of the IMF affiliate United Auto Workers (UAW) ratified with a majority of votes a new six year agreement with Caterpillar Inc.

The newly adopted agreement covers approximately 9,500 hourly production and maintenance workers at Caterpillar facilities in Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

The UAW explained that the deal doesn’t include wage increases for workers hired more than six years ago, who will get their cost-of-living adjustments. More recent hires will get market-based wage increases. The contract also includes a variety of lump-sum payments.

"This is another example of unions and business working together, recognizing each others’ needs, and finding creative solutions to keep good manufacturing jobs in the U.S. in this very competitive global economy," UAW President Bob King said about the agreement.

The negotiations started on December 15, 2010. The old agreement was to expire at midnight on Monday, February 28, 2011 and both sides reportedly met over the last weekend in February with a continued 12 hour session on Monday. The new agreement remains valid till March 1, 2017.