TURKEY: Dismissed unionists of Birlesik Metal IS walked back onto the job on August 9 after a weeklong strike and peaceful aerial sit-in atop a 12-meter crane by the entire workforce of Çel-mer resulted in a reinstatement agreement concluded the evening of August 5, 2010.

The workers at Çel-mer Metal company in Gebze Cayırova, Turkey had originally joined the Birlesik Metal IS union in early summer. Upon discovering union activity inside the steel factory, the company dismissed 12 workers. The 12 dismissed workers began a public struggle for reinstatement in front of the plant and were reinstated on June 29.  

However, instead of entering negotiations toward concluding a first collective agreement, the company continued to pressure workers inside to give up their union membership. When the workers refused to leave Birlesik Metal IS and continued to ask for union recognition and collective bargaining, Çel-mer dismissed 23 more workers on July 16.

On July 17, the 23 dismissed Çel-mer workers began a protest in front of the company grounds; however, this time, there was no response from the company.

On August 2, the 23 dismissed workers re-entered the plant and the whole workforce began an aerial sit-in strike, occupying an important crane inside the company grounds. The family members and supporters set up a tent in front of the factory. The company requested police back up and police were mobilized to the front of the plant.  

Aerial sit-in strikes demanding reinstatement of victimized workers have not been common in Turkey. Thus, the peaceful Çel-mer sit-in strike drew great attention within and outside Turkey. During the tense time period of police surveillance in front of the sit-in occupation, local groups such as the Turkish UPS workers in TUMTIS to international ones such as the International Metalworkers’ Federation sent solidarity delegations to the aerial sit-in at Çel-mer.

After conclusion of an agreement the night of August 5, victorious Çel-mer workers came down from the aerial sit-in and left the factory chanting, "the right to unionize cannot be stopped!"

SOUTH AFRICA: On August 11, IMF affiliate National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) started an indefinite national strike. Around 31,000 autoworkers are participating in the strike affecting all vehicle producing companies including Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan and Mercedes Benz.

The union’s demands include:

• 15 per cent wage increase against only 7 per cent hike proposed by the Automobile Manufacturers Employers’ Organization (AMEO) representing auto manufacturers of South Africa;
• Same benefits for short term and constant contract workers with permanent employment after three months of work;
• Scrapping the use of labour brokers;
• Increase of up to 100 per cent for lay-off payments;
• Reduced working hours down to eight hours a day from Monday to Friday; and
• Six months paid maternity leave.

NUMSA called the national strike after more than two months of negotiations for a new collective agreement with automobile manufacturers. The last agreement, signed in 2007 and expired on 30 June 2010, did not foresee the crisis and subsequent high inflation, which is why the union believes their demands are modest and mainly aimed at "recovering losses suffered as a result of crises", reads NUMSA’s statement issued on August 6, 2010.

"The automotive industry in general is the leading manufacturing sector in the economy of our country with the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution. This industry is the strategic pillar of our economy. It’s economic and employment contribution goes far beyond just new automotive vehicle production – small, medium, heavy and extra-heavy commercial vehicles, and passenger vehicles," states NUMSA.

 "The multiplier effects of the automotive manufacturing industry include vehicle and related parts retail, finance and insurance, service and repair workshops, fuel and oil retail, paint, components, tyres, glass, leather, textile, rubber, plastic and steel production, and transport generally," believes NUMSA.

NUMSA has also been negotiating wages and conditions in the tyre industry, however the union’s decision is not to call for a strike, potentially involving another 6,000 workers.

USA:  In his speech to the annual management seminar of the Centre for Automotive Research, delivered on August 2, the new President of United Auto Workers (UAW), Bob King, challenged business to respect workers’ rights and sign up on principles for fair union elections.

King said the UAW will not passively "sit and wait" for passage of Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which has stalled in the Democrat-controlled Congress, but instead will present to executives of auto and auto-related industries – now operating without unionization – a "Principles and Fair Union Election" protocol that guarantees workers will have their basic rights upheld in free and unencumbered union certification elections.

The UAW will make those principles public following an upcoming executive board meeting of the union, however King indicated they will include equal access to workers seeking to form a union by both the union and management, and the principles would ban derogatory, insulting and false statements by either party. The UAW principles will also ban any threats, coercion, or pressure by either management or the union in the run-up to or after elections.

King told the U.S. auto industry’s leading management seminar that for those companies that sign on and abide by the principles, "we will respect the decision of their workers whether they vote to join the union or not." However King warns that if companies don’t agree to these principles, "then the UAW will not tolerate the violation of workers’ First Amendment rights."

King, who was newly-elected to head the 400,000-member union in June, told the industry that "the 21^st century UAW" will be less adversarial and has already proven to the three major U.S. automakers to be a partner in flexibility, innovation, quality, teamwork, productivity, continuous cost-savings, and mutual respect. In this spirit King also welcomed the presence of transnational companies that have built factories in the U.S., appreciating their role in creating jobs and forming part of the country’s manufacturing base.

"If companies choose not to respect the rights of American workers – whether those companies are American or foreign-owned – then the UAW will use every resource at our disposal to convince those companies to abide by our democracy. It is particularly disturbing and unacceptable for a corporation to allow unionization in other countries, but treat American workers as second-class citizens who are not entitled to unionize," added King.

Recalling the pioneering role in international solidarity of Walter Reuther, UAW President from 1946 to 1970, King said, "Our once-vibrant cities have felt the pain and dislocation of globalization, and the needs of our communities are legitimate and must be addressed."

"Globalization has improved the living standards of hundreds of millions of people in developing countries. As evidenced by the recent labor actions in China, Mexico, and Bangladesh, workers around the world want the same thing – a decent wage, good working conditions, and the right to organize free unions. The interests of American workers are intricately interwoven with the aspirations of the world’s poor.

"Just as the 20th-century UAW helped build the American middle class, the 21st-century UAW must contribute to the goal of creating a global middle class. This is the essence of our heritage of fighting for social justice," said King.

You can see a full copy of King’s speech here.

ASIA: The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) South East Asia Regional Conference on Ban Asbestos Campaign has called on the Canadian government to stop exporting white asbestos to Asia. The Quebec government is preparing to give a loan guarantee to allow the opening of the new Jeffery underground mine which plans to export 200,000 tonnes of asbestos a year to developing countries for the next 25 to 50 years.

The IMF was represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union at the Regional Conference where BWI unions from the South East Asia region committed to country action plans in the campaign to ban the use of asbestos in the region. As the industrialized countries have banned asbestos use, the Canadian and Russian asbestos industries have aggressively marketed their deadly product to countries like India, Thailand and Indonesia.

To assist BWI affiliates in developing their action plans, the conference heard from Fiona Murie, Director BWI Global OHS program, Sugio Furuya Ban Asbestos Network Japan, Yeyong  Choi, Ban Asbestos Network South Korea and Prof Le Van Trinh, Director of NILP from Vietnam. Fiona encouraged affiliates to use the joint ILO and WHO Outline for the Development of National Programs for the Elimination of Asbestos Related Diseases.

The ILO and WHO Outline clearly identifies the steps that governments and workplaces need to take to eliminate asbestos related diseases; to prevent further exposures and how to manage people who have already been exposed.

The AMWU reported on its rocky road for the banning of asbestos, the successful James Hardie campaign and measures that have to be taken in Australian workplaces to manage the legacy of the use of asbestos contamination in homes, workplaces and unfortunately the environment from poor waste management.

All the Conference presentations endorsed the ILO/WHO statement that: "there is no evidence of a threshold for the carcinogenic effect of both chrysotile and amphibole forms of asbestos and that increased cancer risks have been observed in populations exposed to very low levels, the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases is to stop using all types of asbestos."

ITALY: The judge of the Melfi labour court ordered FIAT on August 11 to reinstate FIOM delegates Antonio Lamorte, Giovanni Barozzino and a FIOM member Marco Pignatelli fired on July 14 for alleged sabotage of factory work during the internal strike against work intensification imposed by the management. The workers are to return to their workplaces on August 23.

The company accused the workers of blocking an automated platform delivering spare parts to other workers not involved in the strike and by this hindering the production process.

Contrary to the company’s opinion the judge came to the conclusion the workers are innocent. The judge also condemned the company for anti-trade union behaviour and subsequent violation of the national legislation in a bid to undermine the union by dismissing its activists.

IMF Italian affiliate FIOM organised a series of actions in support of these and other dismissed workers in Melfi and Pomigliano. All IMF affiliates in Italy responded positively to the announced decision on reinstatement.

FIAT did not agree with the Melfi court decision and announced it will appeal the decision.

For more details, follow the link to see the previous report of the IMF.

THAILAND:  On August 5, 2010 members of the IMF affiliated Confederation of Thai Electrical Appliances, Electronic, Automobile and Metalworkers (TEAM) met with the Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to discuss ratification of ILO Conventions 87 and 98.

The meeting took place at the request of the trade union task force for ratification of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise and Convention 98 on the right to Organise and Collective Bargaining chaired by TEAM President Chalee Loysoong.

According to the national legislation, before a foreign treaty or international convention is signed by the King of Thailand, the Council of Ministers must call a public hearing and provide advice to the National Assembly, which then votes on ratification. As part of a national union campaign for ratification of the ILO core conventions TEAM leaders requested meetings with all key ministers.

Thailand is one of the founding members of the ILO. Despite this status so far the country has not ratified the two fundamentally important ILO Conventions 87 and 98. There are around 1,300 registered unions, twelve trade union national centers organizing less than 3 per cent of workers in Thailand.

Two years ago at the IMF seminar Thai affiliate TEAM raised the idea of pushing for ratification of the core ILO Conventions. Arising from this and in conjunction with the IMF global campaign against precarious work, TEAM launched a campaign to demand for ratification of these ILO Conventions.

Soon, the campaign gained momentum and support from a coalition of trade unions under the banner of the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee. For more information on the TEAM struggle against precarious work and the situation in Thailand read the IMF report published in the magazine Metal World.

MEXICO: Good relations between the ICEM affiliate Mexican National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, and Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal have made it possible for the union to post 14 per cent overall gains in renewal negotiations recently.

The contract covers 4,000 steelworkers at the massive ArcelorMittal’s Lázaro Cárdenas SA de CV complex in Michoacan state.

The new agreement was signed on Wednesday, August 4, in Vancouver, Canada, between Los Mineros General Secretary Napoleón Gomez Urrutia, Sergio Beltrán Reyes, Javier Zuñiga García of the union’s executive, and Mario García Ortíz of Los Mineros in Michoacan state, with William Chisholm, CEO of ArcelorMittal Mexico, and Jose Luis Fuentes Quiroz Director of Human Resources.

The agreement was signed in Canada where Napoleón Gomez continues to lead the union while in exile.

There was no involvement by the Mexican Ministry of Labour in the negotiations.

The new agreement increases direct wages by 8 per cent, and benefits by 6per cent, to be paid retroactively from May 1, 2010. The agreement also includes a one-time payment of US$1,300 to each worker for social benefits, including those permanently employed and those employed through subcontractors.

Los Mineros and ArcelorMittal had been negotiating for several weeks prior to a August 1 expiration of a prior agreement. It was extended by three days to allow the Los Mineros leadership to attend the 14th National Mineworkers Forum on July 30 in Cananea, marking the third anniversary of the Cananea copper strike in northern Sonora state.

ArcelorMittal posted net profits in second quarter 2010 of US$1.7 billion. This compares to a net loss of US$792 million for the same period in 2009. At Lázaro Cárdenas, Los Mineros gave approval in May for merger of the company’s four business units, a move that will give the company greater flexibility and mobility of raw materials and resources between its flat steel and slab steel production processes.

UNITED KINGDOM: Bumper pay packages were negotiated last week between British unions, including Unite the Union, and Corus, the steel producer owned by India’s Tata Group. In what Unite termed a "breakthrough" in talks that dated to last May for 12,000 UK steelworkers, labour and management agreed to a 2010 pay deal of 3.2 per cent, backdated to April 1.

The tentative agreement, which also includes a £200 lump-sum bonus, will now be voted on by Unite’s 8,000 members, with results due in early September. Two other UK unions representing Corus workers, GMB and Community, accepted the same deal, with its bargaining leaders empowered to ratify the agreement.

The 2010-2011 collective agreement covers steelworkers at some 15 Corus worksites.

In June, the pay offer by Corus was between one and two per cent. The culmination of hard bargaining last week pleased trade union leaders of all three organizations, particularly since workers agreed to take a pay freeze last year that was included in £1 billion in savings served up to the steelmaker in order to help the company through the recession.

"This new deal offered by Corus will go some way to rebuilding trust with management," stated Unite National Steel Officer Terry Pye. "Whatever the outcome of the ballot with our members on the revised pay offer, we are pleased that the company has made a significant improvement to the pay offer, which we are recommending to our members."

GMB National Secretary Keith Hazlewood said, "After last year’s pay freeze and a very turbulent 18 months it would be nice to think that we have seen the worst, and have the makings of a foundation to build on for a secure future for our members and local steel communities going forward."

India’s Tata Group bought Anglo-Dutch Corus in 2006 for US$12 billion. UK unions remain hopeful that one Corus site that was partially closed in February in North-east England will reopen under new ownership. Union leaders, together with national and local officials have been negotiating with Sahaviriya Steel Industries of Thailand to operate the Teesside Cast Products mill.

MEXICO: With more than a thousand participants, the world congress of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is taking place between August 5-12 in Mexico City. It is the first time that the ITF has held its congress in Latin America.

The congress, which decides ITF policy for the next four years and elects its president, vice-president, general secretary and executive committee, began on the morning of August 5, when ITF president, Randall Howard, criticized the government’s anti-trade union attitudes towards the national miners’ union (SNTMMSRM), the electricians’ union and the teachers’ union. He also highlighted the need to promote public transport on environmental grounds, the need to carry out development programmes to reduce poverty and the importance of joint campaigns with other global union federations (GUFs).

The ITF General Secretary, David Cockcroft, stressed the need for greater social justice and the use of the ITF as a global tool to promote workers’ rights.

IMF representatives are attending the meeting along with representatives of other global federations. The IMF’s regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jorge Almeida, participated in a press conference, along with the ITF president and general secretary, a representative of the United States Teamsters Union and Benito Bahena of the Mexican transport union.

At the press conference, Jorge Almeida greeted those present on behalf of the IMF General Secretary, Jyrki Raina, and thanked the ITF for inviting the IMF to the Congress. He spoke about the situation of the miners’ union and issued an invitation to participate in a symposium on trade union rights on the afternoon of Friday, August 6, when he will discuss the situation of the miners’ and electricians’ unions and highlight the anti-trade union attitudes of the government and Grupo Mexico, especially in relation to the leaders of these unions.

In addition to IMF representatives, the ICEM representative Joe Drexler also attended the meeting.

The IMF reiterated its solidarity with the SNTMMSRM and demanded an end to the persecution of this union including:

• resolution of disputes through negotiations and dialogue, especially the three heroic strikes in Cananea, Sombrerete and Taxco;
• the immediate release of Juan Linares Montúfar, president of the General Vigilance and Justice Council (Consejo General de Vigilancia y Justicia);
• an end to the illegal persecution of Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, General Secretary of the Miners’ Union;
• release of the trade union funds illegally confiscated from union bank accounts on the orders of the government; and
• punishment of those responsible for the crimes against the miners of Pasta de Conchos, Lázaro Cárdenas, Nacozari and Fresnillo.

INDONESIA: Thirty members and shop-stewards of the IMF Indonesian affiliate, Lomenik, participated in a workshop that was aimed at organizing and union capacity building. The workshop was held on July 30 to August 1 in Puncak, Bogor, Indonesia.

In opening the workshop IMF Regional Representative Arunasalam urged the participants to organize the vast pool of unorganized workers in Indonesia. He encouraged them to become active in mainstream trade union work so as to fight for social justice and socio-economic needs of metalworkers. He drew a comparison between workers’ right during the Suharto era and the much more liberal environment that prevails presently. He urged the union to take advantage of the prevailing environment to develop a strong national union movement.

Eduard Marpaung, President of Lomenik, emphasized the need for shop-stewards to also become active organizers and union campaigners. They should not only organize workers in their respective companies but also in the surrounding areas where there are metalworkers and campaign for trade union rights.

Through lectures, role plays, group discussions and interactive discussions the participants gained knowledge and skills in organizing, labour laws, workers’ right and mapping. They also gained insight of how a strong union will benefit workers and their struggle. IMF and its work in the region were among the topics that were presented.

During the workshop conclusion the participants showed enthusiasm in participating in active trade union work. They also formed four ad-hoc organizing Action Committees that will carry out mapping of metal companies and organizing in the areas where their companies are located. They also pledged to campaign for increase in union dues for they felt that a union without adequate financial resources is akin to a poverty stricken family.