Displaying items by tag: Dispute

France: The French High Court has decided to block Lafarge's project to close its plant in Frangey, northern France, until 25 November 2012. The Frangey facility employs 74 workers and had previously been slated for closure in 2012.

The planned closure is part of a much larger restructuring plan at the building materials' giant, which was also annulled by the High Court. However, the court said that the fundamental economic case behind closing the Frangey plant was valid. The group had explained that its decision to shut down the plant was due to overcapacity and high production costs.

The management of Lafarge will now propose a new restructuring plan to the staff representatives starting from November 2012.

Kenya: The Maasai Council of Elders (MCE) has assured cement manufacturing companies in Athi River of their willingness to allow them get raw materials from Kajiado county, following disputes over land. MCE spokesman, William Kirrinkai, gave the assurance after a meeting of stakeholders and representatives of the five cement manufacturers at Nkurrunka area in Kitengela.

Kirrinkai is also the treasurer of the recently-formed special council mediator group to negotiate the re-opening of all the mines that had been closed over alleged misunderstandings between the locals and the companies. He was quick to point out that earlier demands made by the MCE still stand.

The elders had given an ultimatum to the companies to look again at their social corporate responsibilities and consider some of the requirements of the Maasai community. Some of the demands were the implementation of employment quota for Maasai young graduates, two directorial positions in all of the companies, building of health centres in all the mining areas, building of tarmac roads in areas leading to the mines and helping members of the community pay school fees for their children.

During a meeting on the matter at Kitengela on 27 February 2012, the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) and Athi River Mining Cement (ARMC) representatives requested to be given time to consider the demands. Kirrinkai, who attended the meeting, agreed with the then EAPCC chairman, Mark Karbolo, and ARMC's representative Peter Danga to meet again on 10 March 2012 to review the matter.

Kirrinkai separately addressed more than 2000 members of the local Maasais and other communities in Kajiado County, saying that local and non-locals living in the region have a right to all the available resources.

South Korea: A rift between South Korea's construction, cement and ready-mixed concrete companies deepened yesterday as a series of price negotiations ended in stalemate with all sides refusing to compromise.

Squeezed by soaring raw cement costs, some 750 manufacturers of premixed concrete across the country halted production on 22 February 2012, saying they are only losing money by running their plants. They demand that builders accept an 8% increase in prices of ready-mixed concrete and that cement suppliers withdraw a recent 11% increase. They had been prepared to negotiate a lower increase, but two rounds of three-way talks convened by the government have failed to break the impasse. This has seen scores of construction projects put at risk as trucks remain idle.

"Things are not working out because all sides are not willing to step back," said Bae Jo-woong, head of the Korea Federation Ready-mixed Concrete Industry Cooperatives' (CIC) emergency committee and chief executive of Kookmin Remicon. Other officials at the CIC say that the current rates leave no margin for concrete producers and do not reflect sharp growth in cost of coal, sand, gravel and other raw materials seen in 2011.

The CIC argues that while cement manufacturers secured an 11% price hike on 1 January 2012, ready-mixed concrete makers were only allowed to raise their prices by less than 4%. "It made sense to push up cement prices that had been exorbitantly cheap. The recent increase will keep the cement firms afloat but the problem now is that construction companies are resisting raised ready-mixed concrete prices," said Park Jong-rok, an analyst with a Seoul-based brokerage.

Kenya: All the 1200 permanent employees of the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) have reported to work, formally ending a two-week strike. The move follows reports of strong-arm tactics forcing employees to work.

It is estimated that the company lost US$9m during the strike period after union members demanded the resignation of two directors: board chairman Mark Karbolo and managing director Kephar Tande. The government had suspended the duo alongside six other board members over alleged mismanagement.

The workers went on strike after the government installed the same directors after a landmark court ruling ordering them to return to office. Following the ruling, Tande and Karbolo were instructed to open up the plant and normalise operations. Staff refused to work under the two top officials.

Tande said all the staff had resumed work and that money would not be deducted from their January salaries for the days they were on strike. "At least we have managed to bring all the staff on board and what remains now is the mammoth task of talking to Maasai elders from Kajiado county who had ordered the closure of all mines for gypsum, limestone and pozzolana that are used to manufacture cement," said Tande. The Maasai elders ordered all the mines closed and gave the government an ultimatum to return the suspended directors whom they claimed had been "victimised unnecessarily."

The return occurs after employees complained that armed police officers had forced them to work at gunpoint. Raising their concerns in court, a representative for some 778 employees told Justice Cecilia Githua that General Service Unit officers were forcibly removing them from their homes and taking them to the plant to work, even at night.

Kenya: It was reported on 25 January 2012 that operations at the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) were likely to resume on 26 January 2012 after the parties involved in the dispute 'ironed out their differences.' Some local reports are suggesting that many workers will stay away from the plant if it opens over an ongoing dispute with the management. EAPCC Chairman Mark ole Karbolo said, "A solution has been found," and that the board was meeting all stakeholders to agree on a return-to-work formula.

"It is the intention of the board that the company resumes operations immediately," said Karbolo. "The underlying issues that were raised will be addressed following the right procedure and also using the board processes."

The cement plant was shut down on 16 January 2012 when its staff blocked Managing Director Kephar Tande and board members who had just been reinstated by the court at the premises. The workers were demanding that a new board be constituted before they can agree to go back to work. They cited their lack of confidence in the board. One man was shot in the dispute.

The closure has prevented the normal production of around 30,000t of cement and an associated loss of about US$3.5m has been incurred. Despite the millions of dollars in losses, Karbolo is confident that the firm would be able to recoup its losses in coming days."It is possible. We will maximise our operations and our efficiencies and we should be able to recover," he emphasised.

Even if it is possible to safely return to normal operation in the coming days the concerns that have been brought to the fore by the infighting surrounding the shareholding structure will have to be addressed.

It remains unclear whether the 27% stake held by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) should be treated as belonging to the government or if it should be considered as a separate entity. While the board members have maintained that the two main owners, namely the government and the NSSF, should be looked at as different shareholders, Industrialisation Permanent Secretary Karanja Kibicho, maintained that the government and the NSSF are one entity.

"As far as the government is concerned, its shareholding at EAPCC remains just like it was 10 years ago. Our shareholding in that firm is 52.3%," Kibicho maintained. Lafarge owns 41.7% and the public owns 6% of EAPCC.

Kenya: A court has ordered the government to re-open the East Africa Portland Cement Co plant and provide security to ensure operations at the site. Justice Mohamed Warsame directed Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere, Rift Valley police boss and his Eastern Province counterpart to ensure adequate security.

The judge said the interest of the company must come first by safeguarding the interests of the public and shareholders. The judge warned that any politicians that interfered in the affairs of the company would be cited for contempt of court. He said that if the directors were not ready to reopen the company, he would 'fire' them and appoint an interim board.

"We must look at the bigger picture and how we can move this company forward and save it from being run down. The court cannot let it go on," he said.

The judge dismissed allegations that politicians incited workers and warned that any employee who failed to report to work should be sacked for absconding duty. He said that the ethnic direction the company was taking was wrong adding that, "we cannot address the grievances of the Kamba and Maasai, but the company has to operate."

Kenya: The activism of local Massai groups and environmental NGOs is preventing the National Cement Company from installing its clinker plant south of Nairobi.

Narendra Raval, head of the National Cement Company Ltd (NCC), known as 'Guru', is facing stiff resistance to installing a clinker plant south of Nairobi and operating limestone quarries. His company has acquired land from the local county council to build its second cement plant in the country, but environmental NGOs are opposed to this project. Massai groups are doing likewise, saying in their case, that the land belongs to them. The strongest resistance comes from state-owned Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), which argues that the land should remain a migration corridor for wildlife between the national parks of Amboseli and Nairobi.

A subsidiary of the Devki Group (which is also the parent of DevkiSteel Mills), NCC argues its case by promising to reserve 200 new jobs for Massai youth.