Year 1 n 03

May 2015

Internacional
International Bulletin of the Chemical Branch of CUT
Inside this number:
IndustriALL
against
Precarious
Work
IndustriALL
Chemical
World
Conference
We have
always been
on the fight
IndustriALL
supports
defense of
Petrobras
Seminar of the
Mining
Regulatory
Framework
Miners deserve
better!
Outsourcing:
the tormentor
of accidents at
work
Manual on
chemical risk
reduction
Colombian
challenge
mining
multinationals

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IndustriALL against Precarious Work

CNQ debates precarious employment and decline of unionization in
conference of IndustriALL
Lucineide Varjo (in the picture) participated in the table Precarious
Employment and its Consequence on the World Unionization at the
IndustriALL conference of the Chemical Industry

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Lucineide Varjo, president of CNQ, attended the table on precarious

employment and its consequences on the international unionization, at the
Chemical Industry Conference organized by IndustriALL Global Union, in
Hanover, Germany.
In her presentation, Lucineide presented the topic DECLINE OF
UNIONIZATION IN THE WORLD: CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES, covering
the decrease of unionization in the world and in Brazil, specifically, the
challenges of the unionization of young workers and women and the fight of
the trade union movement to ban the Law Project 4330 on outsourcing.
It is essential that trade unions try to approach more and more the
speech of the political practice (theory x practice), because only an
effective organization of united workers will allow an increase in unionization
and in representation of trade unions, the president of CNQ pointed out.
Lucineide also emphasized that in order to guarantee more and better rights
to workers, it is necessary to effectively invest on the construction of
permanent negotiating processes, on the trade union organization of workers
in the workplace and on the organization of trade union networks of workers
of multinational companies.

May Day In defense of

rights, of democracy, of
Petrobras and of the
Political Reform

It is necessary to understand in practice that the working class is composed

of men, women and youths who fight shoulder to shoulder against capitalism
and in defense of immediate and historical rights of the working class, she
concluded.
The IndustriALL Global Union Chemical and Pharmaceuticals World
Conference began on Wednesday May 6, and continued on May 7, in
Hanover, Germany.
Besides Lucineide, the secretary of administration of CNQ-CUT, Sergio
Novais, also attended the conference is a member of the board of directors
of IndustriALL Global Union.

CNQ Internacional

01

Confederao Nacional do Ramo Qumico da CUT

IndustriALL Chemical World Conference

Chemical unions determined to defend and advance workers rights
Around 200 delegates from some 40 countries representing chemical workers gathered
in Hannover, Germany on 6 - 7 May. Participants at IndustriALL Global Unions World
Conference for the Chemical Industries debated challenges and identified responses of
the unions.

Chemical industry plays an important role in global economy as it serves to different

sectors as one of the most dynamically developing and innovative industrial sectors,
particularly employing highly skilled workers. This fact, however, does not make it
immune from different problems and challenges faced by workers and unions in other
industries.
Opening the Conference the Michael Vassiliadis, President of the IndustriALLs
German affiliate Mining, Energy, Chemical Union IG BCE as well as industriAll
European Trade Union said:
We know that in some countries and regions it is still dangerous to stand up for human
and trade union rights, that in many countries the profit is made to the detriment of
the protection of human health and environment. However I am sure, jointly and in
great solidarity we will continue to make progress in the fight against child and slave
labour and conclude collective agreements for decent conditions avoiding any
discrimination.
Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, commented
IndustriALL has been formed in 2012 as a new force in international solidarity to
confront the global capital, since then every day is campaign day for our global union.
The participants interacted on a series of political matters, including sustainability with
its effects on jobs; trade union networks, global framework agreements as instruments
boosting solidarity among the workers; union organizing and campaigns; problem of
declining membership and rampant precarious work; and occupational health and
safety.
At the end of the two-day conference with the view to overcome the existing
challenges and build stronger unity and solidarity among the chemical workers the
participants adopted and action program over the strategic goals of IndustriALL Global
Union: Build Union Power throughout the world; Confront global capital; Defend
workers' rights; Fight precarious work; Ensure sustainable industrial employment.
The participants unanimously elected two co-chairpersons of the chemical industry
sector, namely Iris Wolf, IG BCE of Germany and Sergio Luiz Leite, Fequimfar-Fora
Sindical, Brazil.

Action Plan

Prior to the World Chemical Conference, IndustriALLs Global Pharmaceutical Unions

Network and BASF Representatives Global meetings met and discussed actions to be
taken in the period to come.
Photos from the Conference are available on IndustriALL Flickr channel

CNQ Internacional

02

Confederao Nacional do Ramo Qumico da CUT

We have always been on the fight

Female oil workers debate advances of women in society
The 3rd FUP National Meeting of Female Oil Workers began in the night of May 12, at the
Campinas Regional Office of the Unified Sindipetro of the State of Sao Paulo. Women
from several Brazilian States attended the opening event, representing CUT, CTB, World
March of Women, Youth Popular Rising and FUPs Womens Collective.

President
Lucineide Varjo
attended the
opening table,
representing women
of the chemical
branch of CUT.
Cibele Vieira, coordinator of the Unified Trade Union and secretary of trade union
education and policies of CNQ-CUT, talked about the importance of organization of
female oil workers. This room today, filled with dozens of women, is extremely
representative and it is a huge achievement for female oil workers. Each day more
companies are uniting, participating in debates and fighting for their rights in society, she
emphasized.
clic to enlarge

Lucineide Varjo, president of CNQ, reaffirmed the importance of union and participation
of women in the trade union movement and made a defiance to the coordinator of FUP: this
organization will enable the fact that, who knows, in the next FUP congress there is a women
in the board of directors of the federation, she said.
According to Anaclie Azevedo, coordinator of FUPs Womens Collective, the
Petrobras System currently employs 17% female workers. Women are facing the job
market. The numbers are growing exponentially. And we perform a hard work of organization
to empower women and make them visible to society, she stated.
Lucimar Rodrigues, secretary of CNQs department of the Female Worker, attended
the debates of the second day, and Flavia Nozue, advisor of the confederation,
promoted a workshop for the participants of the meeting. (With information from Alessandra
Campos. Communication Advisor of the Unified Sindipetro, Sao Paulo).

IndustriALL supports defense of Petrobras

Petrobras is currently at a crossroads of corruption scandals and crises. FUP-CUT Brazil
supports the adoption of measures against the culprits, but says it is necessary to defend
Petrobras to protect the jobs of thousands of Brazilians.
Petrobras is the largest oil company in Brazil and is a major pillar of the economy and a
source of jobs in the country. Sixty-four percent of Petrobras belongs to the Brazilian state,
but with the problems of corruption that are being pointed, private and foreign capital, with
the right political support is trying to facilitate the sale of Petrobras shares at a very low price
of its value.
The Federation of Oil Workers (FUP-CUT) opposes because it would mean the loss of the
jobs of thousands of workers. Thanks to Petrobras, the 2,000 jobs at Brazilian shipyards
which had in 2002 exceeded 80,000 in 2014.
Keeping into account the direct workers, 300,000 contractors and other suppliers involved,
the oil and gas industry employs about 1 million honest and dedicated Brazilian workers. But
if they sell Petrobras "the result will be mass unemployment and poverty," said FUP in a
statement.
Therefore, the FUP-CUT, and the most important organization it belongs to, the CNQ-CUT,
together with CNM-CUT, held major demonstrations under the slogan "Petrobras is Ours".
The FUP-CUT also believes that the economy has suffered a great loss and has great
potential to get worse.
Industriall joins the its Brazilian subsidiaries in support of Petrobras for the company to
remain public. Also, considers that it is important to support the thousands of workers who
could be affected by the sale and privatization of the largest oil company in Brazil.

CNQ Internacional

03

Confederao Nacional do Ramo Qumico da CUT

National Seminar of the Mining Regulatory

Framework
The Commission on Participative Legislation of the Chamber of Deputies held, on May 5
and 6, a seminar on the environmental, financial and social impact of the Legal Mining
Framework (Projeto de Lei 37/2011) and economic and social-environmental alternatives
related to the mining activity.

Seminar on social
environmental
impacts of mining

Rosival Arajo (in the picture), city councilor and

CNQs sector secretary of minerals, represented the
confederation at the event and coordinated the debate
table on the social and environmental impacts of mining.
Eduardo Braga, minister of Energy and Mines, Manoel
Dias, minister of Labor and Employment, Jos Calixto,
president of the National Confederation of Industrial
Workers (CNTI) attended the event, among others.
This event was requested by Ao Sindical Mineral,
which aggregates several sectors involved in the mineral
production of Brazil, from the population affected by
mining until the workers themselves. Congressman
Nilmrio Miranda was the rapporteur (PT party State of
Minas Gerais).
To congressman Fbio Ramalho (PV party - State of Minas Gerais), president of the
commission, this seminar will be an opportunity to debate forms of improvement of the
mining legislation, especially concerning issues that involve the interest of workers of this
area.
Workers and communities that are affected by mining activities must be included in the
process of creation of a new Law. This seminar has, therefore, this goal. We want to keep
the channels of communication and interaction with the Chamber of Deputies open,
congressman Fbio Ramalho stated.
The current Mining Act (Decree-Law 227/67) was issued during the military regime. In
order to update it, the government introduced in 2013 a new proposal (Law Project
5807/13), which then joined other six Law projects on the matter. A new special
commission studies this issue. (With information of Agncia Cmara Notcias)

Miners deserve better!

To mark International Workers Memorial Day on 28 April, mining unions in seven
countries in Latin America, representing over 130,000 mineworkers, are taking coordinated
action to demand the ratification and full application of ILO Convention 176.
It is unimaginable that in the twenty-first century mineworkers are continuing to suffer such
high rates of death, injury and illness, say the unions. Countries have a responsibility to
ensure that the workers who extract the resources that are the lifeblood of modern
economies can return from their workplaces safe and healthy.
Mining represents 1 per cent of the worlds workforce, yet accounts for 8 per cent of
workplace fatalities, estimated to amount to 12,000 deaths per year worldwide, equaling an
average of 32 per day.
In Latin America, the industrys rapid growth has exceeded the capacity of many countries to
regulate it. Hence the fact that in Colombia alone, 138 miners died in mining accidents in
2012.
ILO Convention 176 on safety and health in mines, adopted in 1995, is as relevant today as
it was twenty years ago. It is an innovative and well-thought-out standard that represents
the global consensus of the tripartite actors. Its provisions are such that they can be applied
in any mining country. Unfortunately, only three countries in the region Brazil, Peru and
Uruguay have ratified it.
Convention 176 establishes the foundations for sustainable mining. It is based on two key
concepts: First, it is applicable to all mines and types of mining. Secondly, it puts health and
safety at the heart of mine design, operation and maintenance. Studies show that countries
that have ratified Convention 176 have lower rates of accidents and illnesses compared to
countries that havent ratified it.
Mining unions in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, who are
part of a regional mining network, stress the need for all countries in the region to ratify the
Convention in order to establish a floor below which no country can fall as well as to
eliminate unfair competition between countries and companies based on poor conditions

CNQ Internacional

04

Confederao Nacional do Ramo Qumico da CUT

Outsourcing: the tormentor of accidents at

work
Approval of Law Project 4330 at the Chamber of Deputies might be a disaster for
the country. Seven in every ten accidents at work are related to employees of
outsourced companies.
"My life changed completely. I lost my family, my home and was never able to work again.
I lost everything," recalls Clovis Gonalves, who lost part of his right arm because of an
accident at work in 2010, in the city of Dois Irmos do Buriti, Mato Grosso do Sul.
Clovis Gonalves is one of the millions of Brazilians who are injured or become ill in the
exercise of their profession and who must be remembered on this April 28, when the
"World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Occupational Accidents is celebrated. From
2011 until the end of 2013, 2,152,524 accidents occurred in Brazil, according to the InterUnion Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese). Out of these accidents,
48,542 workers were never able to work again.
.

No ao PL 4330 - Lucineide Varjo

28 de Abril de 2015
A Presidenta da CNQ-CUT explica por
que necessrio barrar o PL 4330
Assista ao vdeo

These data were compiled based on official numbers, of notifications made by companies,
when workers are linked to the Social Security. Informal and self-employed workers are out of
these statistics, besides public servants.
Due to the advance of the Law Project 4330, which increases outsourcing in Brazil for core
activities, under the Congress (recently it was approved in the Chamber of Deputies), Junia
Martins Batista, secretary of CUTs Department of Workers health, warns: It is a wild
mechanism, which allows companies to increase working shifts and the rhythm of work,
reducing salaries and also exposing workers to risk situations.
To Junia, if this Law Project becomes a reality in Brazil, it will certainly create even more
accidents and the numbers already point out to this reality. Seven accidents out of ten are
related to outsourced workers. Electric and oil sectors are those in which more accidents and
deaths have occurred.
In 2011, out of 79 deaths that took place in the Brazilian electric sector, 61 were deaths of
outsourced workers. From 2005 to 2012, 14 workers of Petrobras died in accidents at work. In
the same period, 85 outsourced workers died. Data are from the study Terceirizao e
Desenvolvimento, uma conta que no fecha (Outsourcing and Development, an account that does
not match), from CUT in a partnership with Dieese, presented in November 2014

Manual on chemical risk reduction

TUCA and Sustainlabour launch a manual on chemical risk reduction in the workplace
A guide for Latin American Unions, union training centers, prevention delegates in OHS
joint committees. A guide to be used in workplaces all over the continent. Download it
here (only in Spanish)

Manual para la
Reduccin de
Riesgo Qumico

CNQ Internacional

Tens of thousands are used in Latin American workplaces without proper tests being
carried out on effects on health and the environment. Thousands are carcinogenic,
mutagenic, toxic to reproduction, and are irritants. Many of these provoke illnesses and
kill workers in this continent - workers who are only looking to earn their daily bread.
Advances in knowledge are needed to protect ourselves and the manual that we are
launching looks to fill that gap. It is a simple tool that can be used across the continent
by different Health and Safety at Work committees, those responsible for occupational
health in national centres, union training institutes and also labour inspectors.

05

Confederao Nacional do Ramo Qumico da CUT

Colombian unionists in London to challenge

mining multinationals
Colombian trade union leaders travelled to London to tell the story of human rights
violations against mineworkers, indigenous people, communities, and the environmental
degradation caused by mining multinationals BHP Billiton, Glencore and Anglo American.
Last month's vist by Jairo Quiroz, president of IndustriALL Global Union affiliate,
Sintracarbon, and the union's education secretary, Igor Diaz, is a joint effort by
IndustriALL and the London Mining Network (LMN) which campaign together on issues of
common interest in the mining industry.
.

Igor Diaz, from the

Sintracarbon in Zug

LMN is an alliance of human rights, development, environmental and solidarity groups. It

works in support of communities around the world who are badly affected by mining,
particularly by mining companies based in, or financed from, London.
The speaking mission by the two leaders entailed meeting and addressing influential
institutions such as the Ethical Investment Advisory Committee of the Church of England,
the Scottish Trade Union Congress, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. They also
participated in IndustriALL Global Unions meeting on Better-coal, a standard-setting and
auditing initiative by coal utilities in Europe that buy coal from Colombia. Both leaders
met with NGOs including the Colombia Solidarity Campaign, Global Justice Now, Justice
for Colombia, and War on Want.
The highlight of the mission was attending the Anglo American AGM on 24 April and
speaking directly to the shareholders. Sintracarbon President, Jairo Quiroz, took the floor
to make a very moving and persuasive argument to stop the river diversion at the
Cerrejn mine in Colombia. The mine is jointly owned by Anglo American, BHP Billiton
and Glencore.
Quiroz made a plea not just for trade union interests but also for the sake of the
environment and the livelihoods potentially threatened by the diversion. He called for
respect of indigenous peoples rights and urged Anglo American to make safer workplaces
for miners. He also criticised the company for using subcontractors and called for the
elimination of sub-contracting at Cerrejon.
While Jairo Quiroz returned to Colombia, Diaz, accompanied by IndustriALLs Director for
Mining and DGOJP, Glen Mpufane, proceeded to Hanover, Germany as a guest of
IndustriALL affiliate union IG BCE.
Following the German leg of his European mission, Diaz is now in Geneva for a series of
Glencore related activities. His schedule includes addressing Swiss parliamentarians on
Glencore abuses in Colombia. In addition, he will denounce Glencore activities to the
ACTRAV representative from the ILO and will address Special Rapporteurs of the UN
Human Rights Council. He will also be participating in a public event about Glencores
hidden face in Colombia in Geneva on 4 May.
Igor Diaz said, Having the opportunity, through the work and support of IndustriALL
Global Union, to reach public areas where we can highlight workers issues is very
important for our struggle, especially if it helps to improve working and social conditions
in Colombia.

CNQ Internacional

06

International Bulletin of the Chemical Branch of CUT

Board 2013-2017
Directors
(in alphabetical order)
President
Lucineide Varjo Soares
Adilma Oliveira da Silva Pereira, Alex Ricardo Fonseca, Antonio
Felipe Goulart, Aurlio Antnio de Medeiros, Cacilda de Paula
Oliveira, Cairo Garcia Corra, Carlos Alberto Mota Itaparica,
Carlos Alberto Soares Padilha, Cibele Izidorio Fogaa Vieira, Dalva
Lcio de Oliveira, Edielson Souza Santos, Fbio Augusto Lins,
Francisco Brito de Freitas, Geralcino Santana Teixeira, Gildsio
Silva Ribeiro de Souza, Itamar Jos Rodrigues Sanches, Jocemir
Ribeiro Monteiro, Jorge Alves de Pinho, Jos Isaac Gomes, Jos
Maria dos Santos Nascimento, Jos Pinheiro Almeida Lima, Letcia
Aida Silva Queiroz, Luciano Jos da Silva, Lucimar Rodrigues da
Silva, Lucola Conceio dos Santos Semio, Mrcio de Paula Cruz,
Maria Aparecida Arajo do Carmo, Paulo Antnio Lage, Paulo de
Souza Bezerra, Ronaldo Rodrigues de Lima, Rosalina da Silva,
Rosival Ferreira de Arajo, Severino Amaro do Nascimento,
Sergio Novais, Silvaney Bernardi, Tnia Andrea Lisboa, Valdeli dos
Santos Guimares, Vandr Jernimo da Silva

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CNQ-CUT International Bulletin of the Chemical Branch of CUT

CNQ Internacional

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