Venepal Workers Fighting Spirit

On September 7, 2004, the owners of Venepal, a paper mill in Morón, Carabobo, in Venezuela, decided to cease their operations and not pay their 400 workers their wages. This is not the first time something like this has happened. A year ago the company took the same decision alleging financial difficulties. At that time the workers decided to occupy the premises in a bitter eleven-week struggle. Now they are demanding that the government nationalises the company and puts it under workers’ control and management. This is an extremely important struggle which could be crucial for the future of the labour movement and the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela.

Venepal is one of the main producers of paper and cardboard in Venezuela and its installations are located in Morón, in the industrial state of Carabobo. At one point it employed a total of 1,600 workers, controlled 40% of the national market and was one of the main producers of Latin America in this sector. But the company’s management allowed the paper mill to slowly lose market shares and revenues. In April 2002, at the time of the short lived military coup against Chávez, some of its main shareholders were present at the swearing in ceremony for the new, illegitimate, “president” Pedro Carmona. During the bosses’ lockout against the Chávez government in December-January 2002-03 the workers resisted attempts by the employers to paralyse the installations.

Finally, on July 4, 2003, the company declared bankruptcy and left 600 workers without jobs and owing them large amounts in back wages. The company had accumulated debts of $100million with the banks (60% with international banks, Citybank and Chase Manhattan Bank, and 40% with national banks), and a further $30 million with the Venezuelan state in unpaid taxes, national insurance contributions, gas and electricity bills, etc.

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Production Without Paraquat

A new report by the IUF and Berne Declaration, a Swiss-based NGO, shows that production without paraquat is entirely feasible and is already happening in important crops. The report “Goodbye Paraquat” emphasizes that 50 major producers of bananas and tea, which traditionally have been big users of paraquat in their crops, have moved away from reliance in this substance.

On palm oil, there are some producers who are paraquat users, but there is a preference amongst palm oil buyers from palm produced without paraquat. As IUF General Secretary,Ron Oswald says, paraquat is a health hazard for agriculture workers. Now, we know that some leading food producers are opting out of using pesticides like paraquat, but it would be better if governments support this attitude by banning paraquat.

The results of the survey show that in palm oil, banana, and tea sectors Paraquat-free production is not only desirable but also economically viable and thus possible. Consequenty, statements by Syngenta, the leading producer of Paraquat, to the effect that the highly-toxic herbicide is indispensable are clearly untenable.

In Switzerland, Paraquat has been banned for twenty years and in Europe it lost approval in 2007. But on many developing countries the product is still sold in great quantities despite the lack of sufficient protection for users. We can not stop here. We need more progresses in occupation health!

http://www.iuf.org/

BATTLE lines have been drawn against the inclusive government in general and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in particular, as his allies in the civic society mounted an attack this week to derail the constitution making process.

The Financial Gazette can reveal that the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) this week started canvassing for support from members of the Broad Alliance, including the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), to reject the proposed new constitution at a referendum expected early next year.

There is concern within the civic society that ZANU-PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations want to impose the Kariba draft, albeit with minor adjustments, on the people through a 25-member Select Committee appointed on Sunday to steer the constitution making process.

Since its formation in 1997 the NCA has been pressing for a people-driven constitution, joining forces with other civic allies to denounce previous amendments to the country's supreme law.

The Broad Alliance comprises the ZCTU, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and the Zimbabwe National Students Union.

Its partners played a part in campaigning for the MDC-T and ensuring that President Robert Mugabe did not succeed in his re-election bid during the synchronised polls in March last year.

In the run-up to the March 2008 polls, Tsvangirai campaigned on the promise of delivering a people-driven constitution, among a catalogue of other populist policies that resonated with members of the Broad Alliance.

The Prime Minister outpolled President Mugabe in the harmonised polls but did not garner enough votes to be declared winner leading to a blood-letting presidential election run-off boycotted by the former trade unionist due to violence.

President Mugabe won the one-man race roundly condemned as a sham. For the first time in the history of the country, ZANU-PF lost its majority in the august house, creating a hung Parliament.

But the inclusive government has created fresh challenges for the MDC-T and its partners in the Broad Alliance.

Eric Matinenga, the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister recently told civil society representatives that the Kariba draft document will not determine the outcome of a new constitution.

The Kariba draft was authored by ZANU-PF's Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche, MDC-T's Tendai Biti and MDC-M's Welshman Ncube in the resort town as the negotiating parties sought to find a solution to the political crisis.

"The Kariba draft is not and will not determine the final constitution", Matinenga was quoted saying. "That draft is on the same footing as the 1979 Lancaster House constitution and the 2000 (draft) constitution which was rejected by the people."

The civic society is however, not convinced.

The alliance met in Harare last Thursday at a consultative meeting boycotted by MDC-T legislators where it was agreed that the new constitution be rejected once it is put to vote at the referendum.

Critics of the NCA and its allies campaigning for the "No Vote" doubt Madhuku and company would succeed, considering that when they rejected the draft constitution in 2000 they were riding on the back of the newly formed MDC.

To succeed, the alliance would need to win the support of the electorate that has so far thrown its full weight behind the inclusive government despite the continued bickering over a number of outstanding issues.

The Financial Gazette established this week that there was consensus within the Broad Alliance not to embrace the constitution making process.

NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku, whose organisation is fiercely opposed to the political party-driven constitution making initiative, did not mince his words in an interview with The Financial Gazette yesterday, blaming the premier for what he described as a "flawed and defective partisan constitution making process."

Tsvangirai last Thur-sday held a caucus meeting with his legislators where he ordered them not to entertain the NCA and other groupings opposed to the process brought about by the Global Political Agree-ment (GPA) under Article 6 of the September 15 2008 unity pact.

A few days after the premier's meeting, Spea-ker of Parliament Love-more Moyo unveiled the Constitutional Select Committee comprising legislators from ZANU-PF and the two MDC political formations, setting the stage for the political parties driven constitution making process.

The Select Committee would be charged with producing a Draft Constitution for Zimba-bwe to be debated in Parliament before a final draft is subjected to a referendum.

Madhuku said the NCA and like-minded organisations want Zimbabweans to reject for the second time another defective constitution making process.

This was in reference to the 2000 constitutional referendum rejected by the majority of Zimba-bweans.

"This will be a second rejection specifically for (Prime Minister) Morgan Tsvangirai who believes that popularity is all that matters. The second rejection will be his because (President) Mugabe already knows that popular support is not enough to impose a constitution."

Madhuku said the current constitution making process was so defective that the only hope for the inclusive government to succeed was to abuse Prime Minister Tsvangi-rai's current popularity.

"Tsvangirai was able to stop his legislators from coming to our function to eat our food but he will not be able to stop the ordinary people who are suffering during the present equally defective constitution. Let him try and test his popularity using this defective process and he will be surely embarrassed," said Madhuku.

Wurayayi Zembe, the president of the little known Democratic Party added his party's voice to the growing disgruntlement over the constitution making process.

"The ZANU-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M parliamentary route of constitutional making is oppressive, clandestine, and anti-people. We remind those of short memories that at the February 2000 constitutional referendum the people of Zimbabwe rejected a draft constitution that was imposed by the ZANU-PF commission," said Zembe.

"If a ZANU-PF commission of 400 individuals was rejected and dismissed by the people in 1999, it is baffling to see how a tiny committee of 25 can succeed."

Matinenga said yesterday it was unfortunate that there were some people such as the NCA campaigning against the parliamentary process.

"The fact that someone outside Parliament has a different view does not mean that the person will make the process people-driven," said Matinenga in an interview.

"Also the fact that the process has been started by Parliament does not make it less people driven. If there are areas of concern let's talk and we can reach some form of agreement," he said.

"This business of wanting to spoil or start a fight we don't buy it and it will not deter us to produce a new constitution under the inclusive government in a decent manner."

http://allafrica.com/

Polls fray enter for trade union leaders

MANGALORE: After a gap of 18 years, a trade union leader has entered poll fray in Dakshina Kannada parliamentary constituency. Senior trade union
leader and CITU state president B Madhava filed the nomination paper as CPM candidate here on Monday.

CPM last contested from Mangalore parliamentary constituency in 1991 with P Ramachandra Rao as its candidate. Speaking to reporters, Madhava said he was contesting as the candidate of Third Front with support of JD(S) and CPI. He said CPM would contest elections based on pro-people movement that the party had organized in the region. Both Congress and BJP-led fronts have lost confidence of the people who were looking for a change, which will be provided by the Third Front, he said.

B Madhava is a familiar name in worker's movement of the district. He joined CPM in 1972 and worked with CITU. He had organized several labour movements of beedi, construction and tile factory workers and was instrumental in forming the transport and engineering workers union. JD(S) district president K B Balaraj Rai said his party would extend full support to Madhava.

Assets over Rs 17 lakh
CPM candidate B Madhava has declared assets worth Rs 17,09,214 including fixed deposits, amount in SB accounts, property and cash on hand. His wife Veda Madhava possesses assets worth Rs 3,53,519. Details of the assets are as follows: An amount of Rs 1,01,000 fixed deposits in various banks and cooperative society, Rs 1,05,714 in SB accounts in scheduled and cooperative banks, non-agricultural land worth Rs 10 lakh and a house worth Rs 5 lakh. Veda has Rs 60,000 in a cooperative society, Rs 5,519 in SB accounts in a scheduled and cooperative banks and jewellery worth Rs 2,88,000.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Claimed membership by ship trade union

Port workers are being questioned in confidence on whether they are a member of a trade union and if yes, which trade union, the Ministry of Social Policy said today.

The process is being held by the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations to verify which trade union enjoys the biggest membership among the port workers.

The ministry said this process was established practice whenever more than one trade union demanded recognition.

It was reacting to statements by the GWU which criticised the director for the way the verification is being carried out. The union last week commissioned a ballot which, it said, found that the majority of port workers want it to represent them.

The Malta Dockers' Union is insisting it is the port workers' representative.

“The only certain manner to ascertain whether an employee is a member of a trade union or not is by direct interview. This system has been in place for every verification carried out last year. Indeed 18 such verifications were performed last year involving various unions including the GWU. Indeed in a particular exercise held last year, three unions were involved with two of them being the General Workers Union and the Malta Dockers’ Union,” the ministry said.

GWU REACTION

The GWU in a reaction to the government's statement said the legitimacy of such any exercise was wholly dependent on the methodology used by the director, and an undemocratic exercise could form no basis for recognition.

"The exercise proposed and currently being executed by Dr. Noel Vella (the Director of Employment and Industrial Relations) is flawed in that:

"The 'verification exercise' is not itself verifiable by anyone. Neither the two unions nor the employers have been given access to the records of the so-called verification and no party has been allowed to monitor the proceedings.

"Such exercise is potentially inconclusive and could coerce the parties to escalate the dispute.

"The exercise is spread over three days with the clear possibility for a union to put pressure on those workers who did not indicate their preference early in the verification process. It is inconceivable for a verification of less than 400 preferences to take more than a single day," the GWU said.

It said its own secret ballot was completed within a day by an independent law firm led by Professor Ian Refalo. Dr Vella had so far failed to explain why his own "verification" was to take so long.

The GWU said the allegation that the verification exercise is "the only certain manner to ascertain whether an employee is a member of trade union or not is by direct interview" is baseless.

"The method is far from certain in that a worker may opt or may be coerced to declare membership in a union when that is untrue. What the exercise would be recording is the worker's declaration at that point in time, which is equivalent to a vote. The only safe way to establish a free vote is through a secret ballot and not an open declaration which exposes workers to recriminations," the GWU said, adding that the director had repeatedly refused to organise or oversee a secret ballot of port workers' preferences.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/

Richland County Sheriff's Office Prepares For Layoffs

The Richland County Sheriff's Office is preparing for the layoff of potentially one dozen deputies and Sheriff Steve Sheldon has served 12 deputies layoff notices effective March 19.

Mark Drum, Fraternal Order of Police and Ohio Labor Council Staff Representative for the collective bargaining units of the sheriff's office, sent a letter to Sheldon requesting he address some issues on the end of administration personnel.

The supervisor's collective bargaining unit is willing to work with the sheriff on concessions to help with the budget, providing there is a guarantee it will help save deputies from being laid off.

The sheriff is funded by the Board of Richland County Commissioners from the general fund.

The union feels the current strain on the sheriff's budget is a direct result of the requirement to hire more correction officers to operate the jail than was originally planned for.

http://www.wmfd.com/

Pereira Coutinho hands in new trade union bill

Local lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho yesterday handed a new trade union bill proposal to the Legislative Assembly as an intent to fill a gap in Macau's legal system.
A total of 39 articles divided into 5 chapters were presented by the lawmaker. Coutinho also said he believes it will regulate article 27 of the Macau Basic Law.
“During the last three years we have presented it twice, and I don't think it's [asking] too much. Now seams to be just the right time because since January, when the new labour relations law was enforced, a multiple number of [work] situations [has] happened and workers have tried to reach an agreement in order to safeguard their rights, namely the right to enjoy 10 official holidays. In most of the situations they don't dare to challenge the rules because they are afraid to loose their jobs,” he said.
“Last time with the diploma that covered the problem with collective negotiation, we had eight votes in favour,” Coutinho said, adding that “the fundamental fact is the government's responsibility through lawmakers, who have the social responsibility, to understand the weaker link in the labour relationship.”
Pereira Coutinho also defends in the bill a mixed system for workers to have both an internal and external representation and the setting up of social unions. The proposal, he argued, “allows employees to have a strong defence in making sure they are rightfully represented in their own departmental structures as well as exercise their right to collective consult.”
“ The bill we presented describes the associations capacity for the future, as unions, can represent workers not only in courts but also in the public administration.”

http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/