End lock out plea

Texan metal workers locked out without pay by mining giant Glencore kicked off a global campaign outside the company’s London Mayfair headquarters. The campaign, launched on International Human Rights Day, aims to highlight breaches of workers’ rights in countries across the world and demands constructive action by Glencore.

A United Steelworkers (USW) delegation representing 450 workers locked out of the company’s bauxite processing plant in Texas called on company boss Ivan Glasenberg to negotiate in good faith to resolve all the disputes with workers and communities across the world.

The 450 Texas workers have been locked out of Glencore subsidiary Sherwin Alumina based in Gregory, Texas since October 11 after they refused pay and benefits cuts. This included huge rises in the costs of health care and ending health care benefits for retired workers, a virtual lifeline in a country with little or no free health care.

Jessie Green (pictured leafleting a London driver), lead negotiator for USW Local 235A, handed in a letter addressed to Glasenberg during an investors’ conference at the Mayfair HQ.

Jessie says, “Our message was clear: end the lock out and get back to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement. We were prepared to continue working while we addressed the issues on which we disagree; we never wanted the lock out.

“In the States it is usual for the unions to bargain on health care, it’s a lifeline for workers and their families. Their proposals included rocketing costs for healthcare and ending it completely for retirees who had worked for the company for 30 or 40 years.

“The company knows the strength of feeling about their ‘last and final offer’. We put their package to members and 98 per cent rejected it so the company knows what we think, but took the option to lock us out without pay instead of continue talking.

“It’s not just the 450 workers they have locked out, but our families have been locked out of our pay and benefits also. It may be a coincidence but the company sat down for talks on the day we handed in our letter to the global HQ.

“Our letter also mentioned the numerous issues faced by the company’s workforce across the globe in Colombia, South Africa, Australia and Peru. Glencore has to address the issues which we highlighted with workforces across the world, they are not going to go away.

“We feel really positive about what we are doing with Unite. Working together is the way forward, especially with a company which has such global reach.

“I have just finished a visit to the Houses of Parliament organised by Unite. Some Members of Parliament are considering what they can do to help with the issues faced by the workforce globally.”

Ben Lilienfeld, USW lead negotiator who has been in talks with the company in Texas this week said, “A skilled and experienced workforce has been locked out for two months for refusing to sign away hard fought for benefits.

Sherwin is guilty of attempting to starve the miners back to work because it has chosen to prioritise profits over the well-being of its workers and retirees.

“Sherwin Alumina is demanding that its loyal workforce accept massive wage and benefits cuts despite huge profits and rising productivity. Its proposals include freezing the defined benefit pension scheme, scrapping retiree healthcare, and increasing employee contributions for healthcare by a whopping 75 per cent.

“The union’s members were thrown off the job despite last year’s record-setting performance, which saw increased profits and production for the company. In one breath the company says that ‘families don’t turn families away when they disagree’, in the next it is shutting out an entire workforce.”

Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary is proud of the campaign. He said, “The activity outside Glencore’s HQ was a very good beginning to a world-wide campaign. Glencore is the world’s tenth richest multinational with mines all over the globe, yet has an appalling record on human, labour and health and safety rights in the countries it mines.

“We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder and demand the company respect its commitments to human rights, community culture and collective bargaining because in practice they’re nothing but a sham.

“We will be campaigning as part as Workers Uniting alongside IndustriALL to expose Glencore’s appalling human, environment and workers’ rights record in the coming months.”

Unite created the three million strong international union Workers Uniting along with the USW. IndustriALL is an international trade union organisation representing 50 million mining, energy and manufacturing workers in 140 countries.