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May 21st - 2d FEVICCOM Congress |
Under the motto « Defend the workers and strengthen the unions, for a dignified job, without precarity, for the defence of collective bargaining”, FEVICCOM - Portuguese Federation of building, ceramics and glass trade unions - holds its 2d Congress in Tentugal on May 21st and calls for a national march in Lisbon on the 5th of June. See hereafter the Action program synthesis for the congress in Portuguese.
feviccom_congress_2008_flyer
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May
2008
The last UITBB "NEWSLETTER"
is now available!
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UITBB STATEMENT ON THE 1ST OF MAY |
On the occasion of the 1st May, the Trade Unions International of Workers' in the Building, Wood and Building Materials Industries conveys militant and solidarious greetings to all women and men of our industries.
On Mayday, hundreds of thousand of UITBB affiliates and supporters on all continents will march to express their demands :
YES to promoting social justice and trade union rights,
YES to the fundamental right to housing and food for every human being
YES to the re-regulation of markets,
YES to full respect of collective agreements and of economic and social rights,
YES to full employment with decent rights and decent pay,
YES to promoting Occupational Health and Safety
YES to protection against occupational diseases
YES to information and education for the protection of female and male worker's integrity
YES to access to health care and compensation for all those affected by occupational diseases
YES to a global ban on asbestos,
YES to the strengthening of public services (health, education, justice, etc.),
NO to neoliberal economic policies and the degradation of living and working conditions they bring about,
NO to Free Trade Agreements inspired by neoliberal policies
NO to financial markets and their rapacious speculation
NO to the never ending repetition of international financial crisis
NO to the privatization of profits and the socialization of risks and losses
NO to precarious jobs and unemployment,
NO to competition between national and migrant workers
NO to exploitation and abuse of migrant workers
NO to gender discrimination,
They will cry out their aspirations for peace and international security, against wars and aggressions unleashed by imperialist powers, against the arms build-up and for the peaceful and negotiated settlement of conflicts.
Together with numerous civic movements, with youth and women's organizations, men and women builders will once again reaffirm their conviction that a different world is possible and needed: a world of social justice, a world of sustainable progress, a world of solidarity, a world of peace, a world respectful of the human being and nature!
Long live 1st May!
Long live Workers' International Solidarity!
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April 2008: 6th UITBB Asia-Pacific Meeting in New Zealand |
RESOLUTION
of 6th UITBB ASIA/PACIFIC SEMINAR OF BUILDING AND BUILDING MATERIALS UNIONS
15 April 2008, Christchurch, New Zealand
This meeting of unions from the Asia/Pacific region consisting of delegates from India, Vietnam, Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Canada and Australia, having met in Christchurch from 14-16 April 2008, resolves as follows:
1. We ask that the UITBB leadership work to establish a 7th meeting of this seminar process and that the meeting should take place at an appropriate time in 2009. We suggest that discussions take place with unions in a range of countries including Indonesia, Canada and Pakistan in order to establish a host country for our next meeting.
2. Our meeting in Christchurch has had a special focus on the issue of labour migration and OHS and it is critical that we continue our work around these key issues. We believe that the issues of OHS and labour migration should be two of the key themes that are pursued in our 7th seminar.
3. We resolve to take the following practical steps to assist migrant workers who are being abused and exploited:
a) We will seek to organise a day of protest in key cities throughout the Asia/Pacific region (or on a worldwide basis) to draw attention to the problems faced by migrant workers particularly guest workers, in the construction industry. These protests should be co-ordinated to take place at the same time before the end of 2008. The UITBB office should frame a list of demands that can be submitted to governments on the day of our protest;
b) We urge unions participating in these seminars to be in contact with other seminar participants to develop Memorandum’s of Understanding about assisting each other around migrant workers moving between each other’s country
c) We resolve to commit ourselves to press our governments to adopt ILO Conventions 97 and 143, to ratify and implement the provisions of the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour migration and the UN Convention on the Protection of Migrant workers and their families.
4. In order to strengthen the content of the 7th seminar we resolve to:
a) invite a victim/s of migrant labour abuse to attend our seminar to give us first hand information on their perspective.
b) invite NGO’s and community groups working with mistreated migrants to explain their activities (especially in relation to countries in the Middle East)
c) broaden our invite list to construction unions across the Asia Pacific including the Middle East
d) urge participants at the next meeting to bring the latest up to date information on conditions and standards in their country (this can be used to provide information on rights to migrant workers)
e) to furnish technical information on OHS standards so as to provide knowledge and information on these matters to aid our comrades particularly in the developing countries
5. This meeting repeats the call of earlier Asia Pacific seminars that Asbestos should be subject to a world wide ban and urges governments, employers and unions to adopt and enforce this ban.
6. We call upon the UITBB to place all of the papers presented at this Christchurch meeting on the UITBB website as a matter of urgency.
7. We ask that a copy of this final resolution of the 6th Seminar be forwarded to ACTRAV at the ILO
8. We ask that the UITBB office provide each of the participating unions with a copy of the e-mail addresses of those who have attended the Asia Pacific Seminars.
9. Lastly seminar participants place on record our gratitude to the New Zealand Building Trades Union for the hospitality and warmth they have shown to the delegates during our fruitful stay in New Zealand.
Adopted
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07.04.2008 Portuguese and Spanish Unions against social dumping |
 FEVICCOM (Portugal) and FECOMA-CC.OO (Spain) together against social dumping
On April 7,
the Construction Union of the North of Portugal (SCN), with the support of
FEVICCOM (Federation of Construction, Ceramic and Glass Trade Unions of CGTP-IN), whose
Coordinator is our General Secretary José Dinis, met in Porto with the National Federation of Construction, Wood and Allied Workers FECOMA (FECOMA-CC.OO) to discuss coordinated actions with a view to confront social
dumping and its nefarious impact on workers rigts [job destruction, xenophobia fostering, social
cohesion undermining, “race to the bottom”, etc.]
The unions demand that Portuguese workers in Spain be
granted the same wage conditions and the same social security benefits as their
Spanish colleagues.
See further the complete text of the agreement signed by these unions from Portugal and Spain.
Social
dumping: Any practice which violates, by-passes or degrades the social
legislation in force with a view to obtain an economic or competitive
advantage.
Some alarming examples
taken from recent cases: Send a Latvian worker to Sweden
with wages of 450 EUR a month when the corresponding wages in Sweden are 1450
EUR. Hire a Polish worker in a German Land for a salary representing 46.5%
of the statutory minimum national wage.
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Read more...
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APRIL 1ST: Australian anti-labour laws must be trashed |
UITBB and BWI Presidents meet with Australian Deputy Prime Minister
On Tuesday 1 April, a joint delegation composed of John Sutton, President of
the UITBB and Klaus Wiesehügel, President of the BWI, met with Ms Julia
Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. During the meeting, both presidents expressed on behalf of their two world organizations representing tens of millions of workers in the building and wood industries the urgent demand for abolition of the anti-union legislation put in place by the previous right-wing conservative Howard government.
Both union federations reminded the Australian government of the decisions of the ILO indicating that the Australian building industry laws are in contravention
of core ILO conventions 87 and 98.
According to John Sutton and Klaus Wiesehügel, the new Labor government
who owes its victory essentially to the vote of Australian workers and unionists has the moral obligation to fully restore trade union rights and freedoms in conformity with international labour standards and to lift all restrictions and to remove the draconian laws currently in place.
The world trade union movement together with the Australian trade union movement are entitled to believe that the Labor government will live up to the expectations of Australian workers, particularly the building workers who have been treated so badly in recent years.
Sydney, 1 April 2008
It matters to Australians. It matters to us all. Watch this space.
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Bangladesh disaster: Solidarity with deeds |
 The UITBB Secretariat has received the following words of gratitude from the Bangladeshi Dhaka Zilla Building and Construction Workers Union:
On behalf of our Union, we are very grateful to UITBB and CYPRUS BUILDING, WOOD, MINE and GENERAL WORKERS UNION, in particular to Comrade Michalis Papanikolau and all the PEO members who decided to donate the amount of EURO 1450 to our Union as assistance for workers, women and men and their families, who have suffered from last year's natural disasters. Our union Executive committee decided to distribute the amount among 14 (Fourteen) union members and their families who have seriously suffered due to the sudden disaster of Cyclone. We paid per member EURO 100  and together with help from our Union we were able to repair their homes. Our union members are very grateful for the assistance. Thanks for your co-operation and assistance.
Kawsar Parvin Chowdhury, General Secretary
The UITBB Secretariat thanks the Dkaha Zilla Building and Construction Workers Union for reporting on the results of our Trade Union solidarity with deeds. The Secretariat notes with satisfaction that thanks to financial help offered by an affiliated union and together with practical assistance by the local affiliate it has been possible to improve the living conditions of affected workers and their families.
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27.05 - 01.06.2008 - Class-Based Trade Unionism Meets in Sao Paulo |
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From May 27 to June 1st, 2008, Sao Paulo in Brazil will host at the invitation of the Sao Paulo Furniture Workers' Union a series of high-level trade international and regional trade union events. The resolutions and decisions which will be taken at these meetings will have a major impact on the development of class-based trade unionism in the construction, wood and building materials industries.
The programme is as follows:
May 27: Continental Meeting of FLEMACON (Latin-American Federation of Unions in the Construction, Wood and Building Materials Industries)  with the participation of the regional secretariat for Latin America of the World Federation of Trade Unions
 May 28 – 29 : Meeting of the UITBB Executive Committee with the participation of trade union leaders from 6 continents.
May 30 – June 1st : Congress of the Furniture Workers' Union of Sao Paulo.
In addition to dealing with issues concerning the life of each organization, delegates will exchange information and experiences on the most urgent developments of the international and continental situation:
- struggling against capitalist globalization, and for a just and solidarious mode of development;
- coordinating trade unions struggles to protect existing rights and to win new social, economic, political and union rights;
- role of class-based trade unionism of the construction and wood branches in the mobilising working people against FTAs (Free Trade Agreements);
- promoting the role and place of working women inside the trade union movement.
For more information, consult the UITBB Secretariat at
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as well as the host organization at
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New content in the inner pages of the website |
See under Documents > 5th UITBB Asia Pacific Regional Meeting> a new content on Labour export in Vietnam
See under Events > September 10-19. 2007: Trade union training course in Cuba
See under Documents > 5th UITBB Asia Pacific Regional Meeting> Keynote speech of UITBB President John Sutton at the UITBB Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar in Manila
See under Health and Security > Fatal work accidents and a guide on the best practices on asbestos issues published by the European Union.
See under Documents > 5th UITBB Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting a new content on KENKORO initiatives about occupational diseases , a description of the current state of construction industry in Japan , un example of social dumping in Japan and a call for reaction to the militarization of Japan .
See under Documents > Migration and migrants a new content on contracting tiling workers in Australia.
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8TH OF MARCH - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY |
 For the UITBB, the struggle for gender equality, for women's social, economic, political and civic rights, goes hand in hand with the struggle against capitalist globalization, against wars, military occupation and oppression, it is part of the united struggle of women and men for a just and democratic society without exploitation of humans by humans.
On the occasion of the International Women's Day, the UITBB calls upon its affiliated and supporter unions to make women's rights into one of their priorities in their struggle against capitalist exploitation, against war and oppression.
See here the complete version of the UITBB Declaration
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