EUROPE: European trade unions in the basic metals sectors called on the European Commission to act on increasing speculation on raw materials prices and rising electricity prices on April 15.

In a joint letter to Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Council President Herman van Rompuy, the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) and the European Mining, Chemical and Energy workers Federation (EMCEF) have called for immediate action from the European Union.

"Rising electricity prices are damaging our already weakened industries, making windfall profits for electricity companies. Pressure on raw materials prices is being heightened by financial market speculators trying to make a quick buck on the back of our industries. We must unite to ensure workers come before profits," demanded EMF General Secretary Peter Scherrer.

Over 250,000 workers are directly employed in Europe’s non-ferrous metals industries and 370,000 in the European steel industry, in regions already reeling from the economic crisis.

On April 22, the two federations, supported by the European Trade Union Confederation, are holding a European Action Day to highlight their concerns at EU, national and local level. For more information see here.

The two federations are calling for the following EU action:

• Renewed European efforts to achieve a binding, ambitious and comprehensive international agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) guaranteeing a level-playing field and a just transition towards a low-carbon economy: including commitments from emerging economies.
• Commission acceptance of national electricity price compensation for our industries from today, and not only starting from 2013, with European coordination to avoid negative spillovers.
• Inclusion of waste gases recovered from blast furnaces – including where these are used to generate electricity – in free allocations of ETS quotas to integrated steel plants.
• European action to avoid further concentration in the international raw material markets and to safeguard European raw material extraction.
• Initiatives to ensure fair price levels and long-term contracts for raw materials, and the development of European instruments guaranteeing reasonable prices for our industries in the future.

For more information go to the EMF website here.

USA/UK: Miners locked out of Rio Tinto’s site in Boron, California for refusing to give in to demands by the company that could threaten their ability to work and support their families are highlighting their plight as shareholders attend the global mining giant’s AGM in London on April 15, 2010.

Almost 600 workers, all members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 branch, were refused entry to the Rio Tinto’s Borax mine and processing plant when they showed up for work on January 31, 2010. They were locked out for refusing to accept the imposition of a new contract that threatened to convert good jobs into temporary, part-time or outsourced positions. Rio Tinto has used a firm with a notorious reputation for union busting to bus replacement workers across picket lines.

The action against Rio Tinto is a joint initiative of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union (ICEM), and the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF).

The workers are supported by unions and workers around the world, including the European Works Council of Rio Tinto who expressed their support with the locked-out Rio Tinto workers in a resolution released on April 12, which can be viewed here.

The Boron families are surviving on unemployment insurance and charitable contributions. Trade unionists are urged to show their solidarity and support by:

• Sending a contribution to help the families keep up their fight. Even a small monthly pledge will be extremely helpful to the locked-out families in Boron.

Write checks to "Labor Community Services" with "Boron Lockout" in the memo portion.  Mail to:  Labor Community Services, 2130 W. James M. Wood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90006.  Your contribution is tax deductible.  Or you can make a contribution using your credit card by going to http://www.launionaflcio.org/donation-boron/

• Sending a message of protest to Rio Tinto between April 15-22, when the Rio Tinto AGMs will take place in London and Melbourne.
• Sending letters of solidarity to the miners and their families click here and copy IMF here

Find out more on the dispute by visiting:

• ICEM website here: http://www.icem.org/en/
• ITF solidarity page here: http://www.itfglobal.org/solidarity/rio-tinto.cfm
• IMF website here: http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?c=22678
• ILWU’s local website here: http://boraxminers.com/index.html  
• ILWU’s Action Page: http://www.ilwu.org/mobilize/index.cfm

NORWAY:  In commemoration of its former president, Arthur Svensson, strong trade union leader and fervent promoter of global peace, Industri Energi, Norwegian trade union for workers and management staff in the chemical, oil and gas, and furniture industries announced a new trade union rights award.

The award is established to promote international and national efforts aimed at protection and recognition of trade union rights. Any union representative or trade union employee may nominate candidates. The award will be given to a person or organization for outstanding contributions made to promoting union rights and/or strengthening trade unionism at a national or international level.

The award comes with a financial prize worth 500,000 Nkr or approximately 61,000 euros. The winner will receive the award at the next Industri Energi’s national Congress on October 11, 2010.

To learn more about the award visit the Industri Energi`s website at: www.industrienergi.no/news

For further rinfromation or to submit an entry, contact Liv Undheim vice-president of the Industri Energi via e-mail [email protected] or by fax: + 47 230 613 60. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2010.

Please, mark your submissions with the note ‘International award’.

BRAZIL:  While the Brazilian government considers proposals from Sweden, France and the United States to sell fighter aircraft to the Brazilian Air Force, CNM/CUT and IF Metall, both IMF affiliates, have announced their support for the Swedish Gripen bid.

The Brazilian government is about to decide which bid for the international tender to re-equip Brazil with modern supersonic aircraft will best allow it to achieve its military, geopolitical, operational, economic and technological objectives. However, the decision also requires consideration of the country’s social and economic development because of its direct influence on production, employment and labour relations.

At a press conference on April 5, the presidents of CNM/CUT, Carlos Grana, and IF Metall, Stefan Löfven, underlined strong points in the Swedish bid:

• the joint technological research and development component;
• long term cooperation to find new export markets; and
• the participation of important social sectors with an interest in the industry, such as research and development institutions in the aviation sector, other spheres of government (state and municipal governments), congress, companies, universities and trade unions.

Noting that under the Swedish bid the Gripen would only be manufactured in Sweden and Brazil, Grana said that it foresees full technology transfer to Brazil, job creation in the sector and "includes social commitments that will represent an international landmark with regard to respect for International Labour Organization’s labour standards and guarantee trade union organisation in the factories producing the aircraft in Brazil and Sweden". The proposal would create 1,500 jobs in the Sao Paulo industrial ABC region alone and 28,000 (6,000 direct and 22,000 indirect) in the country as a whole.

The trade unions of both countries said they will demand that the companies involved in the Gripen project conclude an International Framework Agreement on labour relations, involving the signatory companies (subsidiaries and associates) and the whole supply chain in both Sweden and Brazil. They pointed out that such an agreement could serve as a model for implementation of ILO labour standards, which are based on freedom, equity and security.

SOUTH KOREA: On March 31 Park Ji-yeon, a young woman of 23, died of leukemia. She contracted a blood cancer at the age of 20 after working at the Samsung semiconductor factory in Onyang.

Unfortunately Park Ji-yeon’s death is not unique. Many other workers who used to work for Samsung died with similar diagnoses. Activists have gathered information that 23 Samsung workers so far have suffered from hematopoietic cancer like leukemia or lymphoma, and at least 9 workers among them lost their lives. Instead of conducting a proper investigation of the occupational nature of the deaths and adopting adequate prevention measures, the Korean government has chosen to support the big corporation and join its efforts to silence the growing evidence of a cancer cluster among electronics manufacturing workers at Samsung in Korea exposed to toxic chemicals.

On April 2, following a funeral ceremony for Park Ji-yeon, Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry (SHARPS), a coalition of trade unions including IMF Korean affiliate KMWU and NGOs, organized a press conference at Samsung headquarters in Seoul, calling the company to account for semiconductor related cancer deaths.

The police broke up the press conference and detained seven activists, who shouted to Samsung: "You are responsible for the death of Ji-yeon Park". Later in the morning on April 5 they were all released without any charges being brought against them.

On March 1, several activist groups launched a petition to alert the international community to how evidence of the hazards of semiconductor manufacturing has been silenced. SHARPS, Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC), Asian Network for the Rights Of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV), and International Campaign for Responsible Technology (ICRT) are addressing the petition to the President of the Korean Government Gee-sung Choi, the CEO of Samsung Electronics, the Korean Minister of Labor, the President of the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service and the CEO of the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency. The petition can be read and signed here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/s4m5ung/petition-sign.html

To learn more, check out also SHARPS video at:

http://dotsub.com/view/6147f3b8-99fc-48c2-acbe-d95be38eddd1

INDIA: Workers and their unions at two Bosch plants in India secured wage increases in renewed four year agreements after they staged go-slow protests, which saw a 40 per cent drop in production at the plants.

The workers at the Naganathapura plant on the outskirts of Bangalore and their union, Mico Karmikara Sangtha-Naganathapura, secured an agreement on March 25 with Bosch which includes a raise of Rs8,000 (USD180) per month in the cost to the company to the 715 workers at the plant. The four year agreement also allows for the salary package to come into retrospective effect from January 1, 2009.

The day before, on March 24, workers at a Bosch plant in Audugudi, Bangalore, represented by the Mico Karmika Sangha union, also reached an agreement with the company for a raise of Rs8,000 (USD180) per month to the 3,500 workers employed at the plant for the same time period.

The workers at both plants launched a go-slow strike from February 12, 2010 demanding an increase of Rs 15,000 in their monthly salaries and medical facilities to their dependents among other benefits.

As a result of the strike, according to local press reports, the company saw a 40 per cent drop in production causing disruptions in the auto industry, which is dependent on critical parts from the plants.

Bosch India manufactures spark plugs, alternators and generator starters for the Indian automotive industry and exports to its parent’s group firms worldwide. Bosch’s clients include Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Ford, Ashok Leyland, Kirloskar, Hyundai and TVS Motors.

Of the four major plants across the country, the two Bangalore plants account for 55 per cent of the production. The other two plants are in Rajasthan and in Maharasthra, where another wage dispute was resolved in November 2009 (see link to previous news item on IMF website).

http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?id=622&l=2&cid=21201

RUSSIA: Negotiations between Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers  (ITUA) and Ford Motor plant management in Vsevolozhsk, Russia, which took part from February 3 to March 22, failed to settle all their differences. The management refused to commit to real health and safety improvements, provide additional employment guarantees and wage increases.

The union responded by holding a warning strike on March 25.  The work at the whole plant stopped, and for roughly four hours not a single car was assembled.

Due to the workers’ action an additional agreement with the management was signed on March 31. Most of the union’s demands were satisfied: wages were increased by 11. 8 per cent, additional job guarantees were provided, management committed to train union representatives and to take other measures in the health and safety field. The agreement also provides for a one-time payment in case of a childbirth or death of a worker or his/her close relative. Permanent workers employed at the plant for more than three years will be given additional vacation time.

The employer undertook not to punish workers who participated in the strike.

‘We thank all the workers who contributed to the defense of the plant staff’s interests and who actively took part in the struggle which allowed signing an additional agreement on March 31,’ said ITUA representative.

USA: An arbitrator ruled on March 24 that American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. violated the terms of its 2008 National Agreement with the UAW when it moved its 8.25 axle production to its facility in Guanajuato, Mexico and must honour its commitments to affected workers.

"This is a major victory for these workers, and we’re very gratified that the umpire upheld our strong outsourcing language reached in the 2008 agreements," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.

The 2008 labour contract was reached after a bitter 3-month strike among more than 3,600 UAW-represented workers at five American Axle plants. Workers protested wage cuts of about $10 an hour and benefit reductions but ultimately ratified a deal that made those cuts, fewer vacation days, shorter breaks and eliminated about 2,000 hourly jobs at the auto supplier.

Less than a year later, the supplier sought additional concessions from its workforce at in Detroit. When no concessions were reached, the company decided to move a large portion of its axle production from Detroit to its plant in Guanajuato, Mexico.

American Axle had claimed it retained broad discretion about what products to make and where and when to produce them. But the UAW pointed out that it negotiated specific sourcing commitments in the 2008 National Agreement. While the company retained the ability to adjust the size of its workforce in response to the economic downturn that hit the auto industry in late 2008 and 2009, it was not free to outsource the work it had guaranteed for Detroit Axle.

The parties have been ordered to determine the exact number of workers affected by the outsourcing, how many were laid off because of the improper outsourcing and how much those workers are due in wages and benefits.

GERMANY: On March 26 the International Metalworkers’ Federation’s German affiliate IG Metall called on the federal government to take the initiative to introduce a legal system for equal pay as a means to counteract underpayment of women at work. This call was a major feature of the actions taken on Equal Pay Day, organized the same day.

IG Metall demanded that the government create a legislative basis for equal pay, believing that such a law should require businesses to continuously monitor the equal pay situation and to make corrections whenever necessary.

Helga Schwitzer, IG Metall executive board member said that, "the effective legal basis for the enforcement of equal pay between women and men, a common practice in countries such as France, Canada and Sweden, should become possible in Germany." Schwitzer also demanded an end to continuous attempts of reducing job opportunities and earning potential of women in Germany, referring to the intention to reduce the training period to two years for office jobs such as clerks in office communication, where three-quarters of trainees are women.

On this occasion the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) collected signatures of members of works’ councils, trainers, youth and education workers protesting against reduced training period and called on the federal government to prevent the threat of discrimination against women.

Equal Pay Day action was held for the third time and this year was organised by the IG Metall department for women and gender equality policy. The department also prepared a presentation providing information on the remuneration gap between women and men in Germany and giving ideas on possible union actions.

GENEVA/MEXICO: In an attempt to delay and block a complaint filed in February 2009 by the International Metalworkers’ Federation with the International Labour Organization on the violation of freedom of association through the use of protection contracts in Mexico (ILO Case No. 2694), the Mexican government responded to the Committee on Freedom of Association at the 11^th hour claiming inadmissibility.

The IMF maintains that the Mexican government has a clear case to answer on its violation of freedom of association through the widespread use of protection contracts in Mexico.

As outlined in the complaint (ILO Case No. 2694), labour laws in Mexico and the way they are applied by the government and employers frequently result in collective agreements being reached at an enterprise between a "union" and an employer with no reference to the workers it covers. These agreements are known as protection contracts (contratos de protección), with lawyers estimating that the vast majority of all collective contracts in Mexico are protection contracts.

Most protection contracts do not benefit workers because the agreed conditions are the minimums required by law. In practice protection contracts are used to prevent independent unions from forming and to prevent the possibility of workers taking action, such as strikes, to protect their interests.

Worse still, workers that seek to establish an independent union and negotiate a collective contract are frequently subjected to reprisals, intimidation, threats, violence, dismissals and blacklisting.

The IMF regards protection contracts and the impact they have on workers as a violation of the right to freedom of association as enshrined in ILO Convention 87, since there is no question here of a decision freely made and will continue to press for an answer from the Mexican government on this issue.

For more information about protection contracts, what they are and how they impact on workers see this summary here and the full complaint lodged with the ILO here.