Displaying items by tag: Strike
Union accepts pay increase at Lafarge South Africa
18 February 2016South Africa: LafargeHolcim has reported that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has accepted an 8% pay increase, according to Reuters. Around 800 workers affiliated to the union started a strike on 11 February 2016 asking for an 8.5% wage increase, a US$6500 housing grant, salary adjustments and a 35% acting allowance, Lafarge said in a statement. It added that the company was ‘well placed’ to meet its customer’s orders. The industrial action followed a series of negotiations which started in October 2015.
LafargeHolcim workers at Saint-Constant cement plant go on strike
08 February 2016Canada: LafargeHolcim cement plant workers at Saint-Constant went on strike on 6 February 2016, according to CJAD radio. A collective agreement for 68 workers at the plant, members of the United Steelworkers union, expired in September 2015. No new contract has been agreed after nine negotiation meetings. The principal disagreement concerns a change to the workers' pension plan.
Worker electrocuted at Ambuja plant
24 August 2015India: A worker has died after being electrocuted at the Ghanauli cement plant in Uttar Pradesh. Prem Pal, was working on a piece of equipment at the plant owned by Ambuja Cements, according to local police. Following the incident, other workers at the plant staged an immediate strike. They also demanded that US$37,500 be paid to Pal's family by way of compensation and stated their dissatisfaction with company vice president Rajesh Sondhi, who they claim has presided over a period of poor health and safety management at the plant.
In response, company civil engineer Ajay Vashisht said the machine on which Prem Pal had been working was 'not faulty.' He added that it had been sent for examination. It is not clear whether the company has acted or will act on the demands of the strikers.
Coal strike may impact industrial growth across India
08 January 2015India: A strike by coal workers' unions would impact industrial growth across the country, industry chambers said. It asked the trade unions to resolve their grievances in an amicable manner.
"The strike would impact industrial growth across India, especially in power-deficient northern and southern regions, resulting in long unplanned outages," said Assocham secretary general D S Rawat. "The strike would impact all industries based on coal, including the cement industries that are already reeling under the pressure of raw material prices."
Over 75% of India's daily coal output has been hit as the five-day strike by workers of State-run miners entered the second day on 7 January 2015, raising fears of disruption in power supplies. The industrial action is in protest of 'disinvestment and restructuring of state-run Coal India' and to press for demands, including the roll-back of what unions call 'process of denationalising of coal sector.'
Appealing to all trade unions to call off the strike, Process Harmony Development (PHD) chamber president Alok Shriram said that they should negotiate with the government to resolve their concerns and grievances in an amicable manner. The government has begun an exercise to reform India with progressive and modest policies to put it on the path of accelerated growth. Any sort of strike to oppose and obstruct the evolving policies would harm the country's economic interest, according to Shriram.
"The path of strike serves neither workers nor the policy makers. Therefore, the working class of Coal India ought to seek redressal of their grievances through negotiations," said Shriram.
Update: According to Reuters, the strike has been called off on the second day (7 January 2015) after the government agreed to re-examine the decision.
Power minister Piyush Goyal agreed to form a committee to look into any issues with a recently-passed executive order that would allow auctions of coal mines to private companies for their own use, as well as allowing commercial mining in the future.
"We have withdrawn the strike," said Jibon Roy, a senior union leader. "The minister agreed to form a committee. They will see what are the problems in the ordinance (executive order). Normal discussions on other demands will continue."
Workers on Russian Holcim project strike over pay
19 December 2014Russia: The workers of the Granit company, which is involved in construction of a new line at the Holcim cement plant in Saratov, Volga Federal District, conducted a one-day strike on 18 December 2014. Their actions were due to a disagreement caused by overdue salaries.
Sri Lanka: Nearly 500 contract workers at two Holcim Lanka cement plants in the towns of Puttalam and Galle in Sri Lanka have been on strike since 19 May 2014 demanding job permanency, better wages and improved working conditions. The striking workers and their families are occupying the cement plant premises. The Inter Company Employees Union (ICEU) called the strike.
The protesters at the Puttalam plant have blocked the main gate, halting the transport of cement. The company and contractors are trying to break the picket with the help of Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The government is determined to end the strike and has deployed police and the riot squad. The police are threatening to arrest union leaders and activists.
On 1 June 2014 the striking contract workers and their families at the Puttalam and Galle plants were attacked by hired thugs with swords and clubs, allegedly organised by the local ruling party politicians. At the Puttalam plant nine people, including an eight year old girl, were injured and sent to hospital. Four are still hospitalised. Protestors asked for police protection, who were present during the attack, but their appeals were allegedly refused. At the Galle plant one protester was injured.
The mother of the eight year old girl who was injured said that her daughter had been thrown to the ground by the thugs. "I'm afraid for my husband, who has been working for eight years as a contract worker. That's why we joined the protest."
Holcim established its Sri Lankan operations after the privatisation of the state-owned Puttalam Cement Corporation in 1996 under former president Chandrika Kumaratunga. After Holcim took over, the workforce was cut from 1500 to less than 900, with only 370 permanent workers. Some of the contract workers have worked for the company for more than 20 years. Keeping workers on contract basis is a means employed to deny the rights they would have as permanent employees and to subject them to harsher working conditions.
Workers in the production and transport sections are employed on a 12 hour shift system. Their basic monthly wage is less than US$115. In the loading section, six workers have to load 4500 cement bags during a 12 hour shift with the assistance of a conveyor belt. The workers on 'general duties' work nine hour shifts and are on daily wages of US$16.02.
Holcim Lanka dominates has more than 40% of the local market. In the recent period, it has increased the price of a 50kg bag of cement several times and profits have soared, even after paying the government's increased taxes.
APCMA: Coal delivery strike to hit cement production
12 December 2012Pakistan: The cement industry has faced a shortage of raw material since Friday 7 December 2012 because truck owners have stopped picking up coal consignments for factories from Port Qasim, according to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). They are observing a strike against increased incidences of theft, extortion and the charges from the motorway police. The Pakistan cement industry consumes around 4.5Mt/yr of coal.
Coal and various other raw materials are not currently being transported to any cement producer from Port Qasim, which is likely to hurt production in the coming days.
Aside from the thefts and extortion by criminals, the truck owners and drivers say that motorway police have imposed impractical restrictions on truck loading. Truck owners said that the load restriction of 58.5t including 28t from the trucks themselves, is too low. This requirement severely limits the coal-carrying capacity of many trucks, making the transportation cost per tonne unrealistically high.
The APCMA has demanded the government to resolve the issues of goods carrier at the earliest hence the supplies are made regular in order to continue uninterrupted cement production.
Strikes and protests in Egypt decrease cement production by 50%
05 December 2012Egypt: Ezzeldin Abu Awad, head of the Cement Traders Society, has said that the current strikes and protests in Egypt have decreased cement production by about 50%.
In comments to the Al-Ahram newspaper he added that the actual demand for cement under the infrastructure project agreements between the Egyptian government and construction firms stands at only 40%. Abu Awad attributed suspended sales to speculations on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) due to the current political tension.
Elsewhere in the Egyptian industry, Sinai Cement disclosed to the EGX that a rocket propelled grenade attack on 27 November 2012 that was attributed to one of its factories actually hit the Sinai White Cement Company not Sinai Cement's factory.
Iran plant closed for 10 days over strike
24 July 2012Iran: The Khazar Cement Plant, one of the largest in Iran was forced to stop production for 10 days due to a dispute with truck drivers. The drivers had refused to transport cement at the rate that they had been paid by the Gilan Province Government. As the plant cannot store the cement it has produced, it had to be shut down temporarily. The drivers have now returned to work after accepting a 15% pay-rise.
The Khazar plant exports cement to Russia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iraq and Turkmenistan.
Sepahan Cement workers on strike
09 July 2012Iran: The Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), has reported that around 700 labourers who work for the Sepahan Cement Company have gone on strike. It is reported that they downed tools on 6 July 2012 and have been protesting at the site of the Sepahan Cement plant.
The contract workers had written letters to officials of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare as well as some MPs and informed them about poor working conditions and pay. They said that 'the correspondence did not bear any result.' It appears that the strike is the result of this apparent lack of response. The dispute continues.