The mission included delegates from the United Steelworkers of America and the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa, and was accompanied by IndustriALL Global Union’s Director of Mining, Glen Mpufane. During the three days, the mission delegates met with the management of PT Freeport Indonesia, as well as government representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources and Minerals, and the Ministry Manpower and Transmigration.

An investigation into the accident has been held, and from which CEMWU (FSPKEP-SPSI) was barred from active participation. The findings of the investigation could not be made public even though the report was not classified. This has led to a lawsuit being filed against the company by a human rights lawyer in Indonesia, although compensation has been paid to the families of the victims.

 “We learned with horror that the cause of the accident was that the roof collapsed due to faulty lines along the rooftop and deterioration of ground support bolts, and as such no one could be held accountable,” Andrew Vickers says.

The mission’s conclusion, supported by the CEMWU FSPKEP-SPSI, was that the cause of the accident was management negligence. No evidence of inspections or risk assessment performed before the accident could be provided.

“The mission also concluded that the accident clearly illustrates the urgent need for the ratification of ILO Convention 176 in Indonesia. IndustriALL Global Union is committed to lend our support to speed up this process,” says Glen Mpufane.

GLOBAL/COPENHAGEN: More than 1,000 unionists from every corner of the globe are meeting in Copenhagen June 18 to 20, 2102 to form IndustriALL Global Union, representing 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors.

"Among the delegates are heroes who have been on the front-line of the fight for democracy and workers’ rights," said Jyrki Raina, the in-coming general secretary of IndustriALL Global Union.

"Bashed, imprisoned and their lives threatened they come to Copenhagen to adopt a new Action Plan to ensure globalization delivers for the 99 per cent not just the 1 per cent.

"Workers and their unions, members of IndustriALL, have been at the forefront of the Arab Spring fight for democracy, the struggle against despots.

"In Copenhagen we will form a new union family of heroes, with strong bonds, ready to stick together through thick and thin – a new force in global solidarity taking up the fight for better working conditions and trade union rights around the world.

"IndustriALL will challenge the power of multinational companies like Rio Tinto and BHP," Jyrki Raina said. "We hope to negotiate on a global level with the global giants.

"IndustriALL will fight for a new model of globalization, a new economic and social model that puts people first, based on democracy and social justice."

IndustriALL will be founded in Copenhagen on 19 June 2012. The new organisation will bring together affiliates of the former global union federations: International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) and International Textiles Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF).

IndustriALL Global Union will represent workers in a wide range of sectors from extraction of oil and gas, mining, generation and distribution of electric power, to manufacturing of metals and metal products, shipbuilding, automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering, electronics, chemicals, rubber, pulp and paper, building materials, textiles, garments, leather and footwear and environmental services.

The new website, http://www.industriall-union.org/ , will go live at 14:00 on 19 June 2012.

UNITED KINGDOM: Affiliates of the ICEM, IMF, and ITGLWF are uniting in action around the world in support of the United Steelworkers (USW) campaign to push Rio Tinto "Off the Podium".

Scores of affiliates are writing to and taking action at the national representatives of the International Olympics Committee in their home countries. Take another action now to express our collective anger that Rio Tinto can tarnish the London Olympics with their abuse of worker rights and the environment, by casting your vote here.

As has been widely reported, the metal used for medals at the upcoming London Olympics comes from Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, USA, and its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

A great advert for the mining conglomerate, scandalously linking Rio Tinto to the high ideals of the Olympic games. The multinational has a record of catastrophic pollution, and violation of human rights and public health. But the lockout of 780 workers at the aluminium smelter in Alma, Quebec has particularly angered the international trade union movement, as workers there are being punished for rejecting management attempts to halve salaries and outsource the workforce.

The Kennecott union, USW Local 392, whose members mined the metal for the majority of the 4,700 medals also want the company "Off the Podium" because of the labour violations in Alma. 

Vote now on the London Mining Network’s campaign, the Greenwash Gold Awards, and ensure Rio Tinto is properly portrayed as a company not deserving of a relationship with the Olympics.

INDIA: Eleven employees, including some of the senior officers, were killed and several sustained burn injuries in a major accident in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. (RINL) Visakhapatnam steel plant on June 13, 2012. The accident occurred in the recently expanded area of the plant at about 8.30 p.m during a trial run of a newly-commissioned oxygen plant in steel melt shop 2.

According to trade union representatives, the explosion caused the death of eight employees on the spot and three succumbed to injuries later. Many more were admitted in various hospitals in Visakhapatnam with serious injuries.

The major capacity expansion of public sector RINL Visakhapatnam steel plant, from 2.9 million tonnes to a level of 6.3 million tonnes per annum, was completed recently. However trade union representatives allege that owing to negligence of the management and inadequate deployment of skilled personnel a number of accidents are taking place.

Expressing deep condolences to the bereaved, Rajashekar Mantri, Vice President, Indian National Metalworkers’ Federation (INMF) said, “Workers will not tolerate such negligent attitude of the management. At all costs the management should take immediate steps to ensure workers’ safety.” He called for a thorough probe into the accident and expressed concern over the procurement of inferior quality materials.

Safety at the Vishkapatnam steel plant came under serious questioning in recent times following an accident on May 1, 2012, when two contract workers were burnt to death in an explosion in blast furnace-3 of the plant.  According to official estimates in public sector steel units alone, 155 workers lost their lives and 1,070 workers were injured in accidents from the year 2006 to 2010 (October).

GLOBAL: International unions warned of a dangerous credibility gap between G20 Leaders’ past statements on jobs and many G20 governments’ actions that are pushing economies back into recession and destroying jobs.

The warning came as global unemployment climbs towards 210 million with 75 million young people unemployed. The OECD and ILO estimate 21 million jobs need to be created each year to return to pre-crisis employment rates by 2015.

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), said a global opinion poll commissioned by the ITUC showed only 13  per cent  of people believe they have real influence on governments’ economic decisions, as the impact of G20 austerity policies that started in Toronto in 2010 take hold of family incomes and job security.

In a statement to G20 leaders, international unions said austerity measures in Europe and the premature withdrawal of government support for growth have pushed the Eurozone back into recession.

"Two thirds of people polled favoured investing in jobs and growth and only 10 per cent austerity. While we have seen glimmers of a debate emerging in Europe in the last few weeks, it is just that. There is no plan, no confidence that there will be investment in job-centred growth," said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.

The global poll of 13 countries including 10 G20 economies showed 71 per cent of people don’t feel they have job security, and only 11 per cent have seen their incomes go up more than the cost of living.

Trade union leaders under the auspices of the Labour 20 are calling for:

• A "Los Cabos Growth and Jobs Plan"
• Regulation of the financial system and the introduction of a  financial transactions tax
• A G20 action plan and fund to support the implementation of Social Protection floors
• Formalizing the L20 and B20 to increase the governance and accountability of the G20, and a joint meeting of the G20 Finance and Labour Ministers
• Concrete action to implement the G20 Task Force recommendations on youth unemployment, with a mandate for renewed work by the Task Force that should report back to a G20 Labour Ministers’ Meeting under the Russian G20 Presidency.

Read the L20 statement to the G20 Summit taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 20-22, 2012: http://www.ituc-csi.org/l20-statement-to-the-g20-summit.html

For more details on the poll commissioned by the ITUC go to: http://www.ituc-csi.org/poll-only-one-in-ten-in-g20.html

GENEVA: It was a full house in room IV of the International Labour Organization, where representatives from the international labour movement and independent union movement in Mexico discussed Protection Contracts and barriers to Freedom of Association in Mexico. Panelists and discussion participants also identified ways in which unions can act and move forward.

The panel discussion was hosted by the International Trade Union Confederation and Global Union Federations, with Steve Benedict, the ITUC’s Director for Human and Trade Union Rights, opening the event.

 

It is estimated and widely accepted in Mexico that nearly 90 per cent of all collective bargaining agreements are protection contracts. "This is a serious crisis for Freedom of Association, a crisis for our workers, our unions and in some cases even the employers are rejecting this system," said Christy Hoffman, deputy general secretary of UNI Global Union, who co-chaired the event.

Specific cases where workers have been denied the right to join a union, and in some cases faced brutal retaliation were presented by Hector Barba Garcia from UNT, Genaro Trejo Arteaga and Oscar Alzaga from Los Mineros (SNTMMSRM). Panellists denounced the overt complicity between Mexican authorities and transnational companies such as Wal-Mart, JCI, Atento, PKC, Excellon, and Grupo Mexico to deprive workers of their right to Freedom of Association.

"This is a call to action," said Liz Shuler, AFLCIO Secretary Treasurer speaking about cross-border strategies to combat the criminalization of social and union struggle in Mexico. "We need to build our capacity to better deliver solidarity and build our union networks around the world to take on this fight."

A plan for moving forward was outlined by the International Metalworkers’ Federation’s Assistant General Secretary, Fernando Lopes, who identified five major areas for focus and action:

• Work with the ITUC, GUFs and the ILO to push the government to adhere to ILO international standards and implement recommendations made by the Committee on Freedom of Association regarding protection contracts (case no. 2694).
• Support global and regional campaigns and networks fighting for Freedom of Association in Mexico, such as the ITUC (global) and the TriNational Solidarity Alliance-GUFs, US, Canada and Mexico (regional).
• Participate in and grow mobilizations in support of February Global Days of Action on Mexico. A week of events held annually around February 19 around the world.
• Hold multinationals accountable to their role and profit in having protection contracts. Identify multinationals who have made commitments to adhere to international labour standards, such as Global Framework Agreements, OECD guidelines and members of the Global Compact to urge companies to abandon the protection contract system.
• Make union building a priority so independent unions have the capacity to represent workers who are breaking out of the protection contract system.

For more information about the program, see flyer here.

ASIA-PACIFIC: Since 2009, IMF Indian affiliates, Indian National Metalworkers’ Federation (INMF) and Steel Metal and Engineering Workers Federation of India (SMEFI) have successfully organized 24,868 steel workers in three states, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa, with solidarity support from SASK (Finland) and LO-TCO (Sweden). The feature article, “Organizing together: An experiment in unity”, vividly tells of the factors that contributed to the success of these organizing initiatives.

The second feature article “Workers win epic struggle at Hanjin Heavy Industries”, captures major events of the valiant struggle, which will go a long way in strengthening the Korean trade union movement, international workers’ solidarity and workers’ resolve to protect their rights to organize and collective bargaining.

The magazine also includes an interview of Kochiro Nishihara-san, President of IMF JC, and JAW, in which he shares his views on challenges arising from the merger of three GUFs, IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF, initiatives of IMF-Japan Council including solidarity with workers in Japanese TNCs, building trade union networks and promoting women’s participation in trade union activities.

You can download a copy of the journal here: http://www.imfmetal.org/files/12061315525079/Metal_AP_Issue_2_2012.pdf.

GLOBAL:  On Friday June 8, Said Iqbal, President of Indonesian national centre KSBI and President of IMF affiliate FSPMI delivered a speech to the plenary of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in which he drew attention to the two most urgent problems facing Indonesian workers: the absence of a living wage and the expansion of precarious work.

Iqbal told ILC delegates that in Indonesia, the average of wage is only sufficient to support workers and their families for 18 days a month, leaving 12 days each month when they must go in debt to meet their basic needs. He stressed that low wages in developing countries create a cycle of poverty for workers and called on the ILO to urge particularly multinational companies to provide a living wage to workers in developing countries.

"The exploitation of workers in developing countries, including Indonesia, is exacerbated by the imposition  of precarious work and the lack of a social protection floor which increases the length of the cycle of poverty. In Indonesia, precarious work in capital-intensive industries is at a rate of 47 per cent and in labor-intensive industries it is at 80 per cent," said Iqbal. "Precarious work leads to declining union membership density, no implementation of the social protection floor, more and more younger workers losing their jobs, and no more job or income security."

Iqbal ended his speech by calling for an ILO Convention against precarious work and implementation of decent wages worldwide.

GLOBAL: 2011 was a difficult and often dangerous year for workers throughout the world, with those who dared stand up for their trade union rights facing dismissal, arrest, imprisonment and even death.

That in essence is the picture that emerges from the annual survey of trade union rights violations published on June 6 by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). This year’s survey examines 143 countries.

Colombia is once again the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists. Of the 76 people murdered for their trade union activities, not counting the workers killed during the Arab Spring, 29 lost their lives in Colombia. And in Guatemala yet again trade unionists paid a heavy price, with 10 assassinations committed with impunity. A further eight trade unionists were murdered in Asia.

The worldwide trends highlighted in the survey include the non respect of labour legislation by governments, the lack of funding for labour inspection and workers’ protection, the lack of rights and the abuse faced by migrant workers throughout the world, particularly in the Gulf States, and the exploitation of the largely female workforce in the export processing zones around the globe. Among the most vulnerable are the 100 million domestic workers.

"It’s no coincidence the ITUC’s Annual Survey is released each year at the ILO’s International Labour Conference, it complements the discussion of trade union rights abuses around the world normally held within the Committee on the Application of Standards," said Jyrki Raina, general secretary of the International Metalworkers’ Federation.

"Tragically, these critical cases will not be heard this year at the ILO as a result of the Employers’ Group’s decision to abandon the convention oversight process in the Committee. The impact of this dangerous development will be felt way beyond the confines of the ILO."

Read the whole Survey at: http://survey.ituc-csi.org/

FRANCE: Government and industry delegates from OECD and non-OECD economies attended the 72nd session of the OECD Steel Committee from May 31 to June 1. The Committee has 33 members as well as a number of observers and accounts for around 76 per cent of the world exports of steel. The Committee acts as a unique platform where multilateral steel problems can be discussed and political solutions can be found.

One such problem facing the industry is access to raw materials and in his last statement the Chairman of the OCED Steel Committee drew attention to the importance of this issue. The Committee highlighting the question of raw materials in steelmaking has resulted in governments and industry giving the issue increased attention. The International Metalworker’s Federation (IMF) also shares these concerns and in its latest submission questioned the sustainability of the industry when major suppliers such as Rio Tinto continue to be poor corporate citizens.

About 70 per cent of the iron ore trade in the world is accounted for by three companies: BHP Billiton, Vale and Rio Tinto. Iron ore is a principal raw material for steel and an integral part of the steel supply chain. It is true that the steel industrial cannot consider itself sustainable or socially responsible unless it also accepts responsibility for its supply chain. The track record for these major suppliers is not good: Vale was voted as the 2012 Public eye choice award for world’s worst company.

Rio Tinto also has a poor reputation as a corporate citizen and is currently conducting an illegal lock out of workers in Alma, Quebec. Rio Tinto’s reputation is so bad that local community groups and unions are working together to prevent its US$12bn investment in India and are also conducting an Off The Podium campaign at this year’s 2012 Olympic games. Rio Tinto has been the subject of allegations and reports about human and labor rights abuses, and about environmental devastation around the world, including in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, China and elsewhere.

During the meeting the IMF called for governments and policy makers to act to break up the mining monopoly or to adopt policy solutions that would force companies like Rio Tinto to become good corporate citizens. Unions argue that unless action is taken the steel industry will remain tarnished and unable to take action against bad suppliers due to a lack of options.

Rob Johnston, IMF Executive Director commented, "The steel industry should be able to say to companies like Rio Tinto improve or we will walk away, but if limited supply means you can’t do that the solution has to be oversight and regulation".