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International union protest over lockout of US mineworkers
16 April 2010
Unionists are this week expressing their outrage over an Anglo-Australian mining firm’s decision to lock out some 570 mineworkers.
The mineworkers, employed at a borax mine in Boron, California, which is owned and operated by multi-billion dollar global corporation Rio Tinto, have been locked out of the mine since the end of January. This followed a stalemate in negotiations on a new labour contract. The managers have since brought in strike breakers to replace the workers. The lockout is currently having a devastating impact on the livelihoods of the workers and their families.
Unionists have this week responded to a call for solidarity with the mineworkers, who are represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). On 15 April, representatives from the ITF and its affiliates Unite (UK), ILWU (Canada), FNV Bondgenoten (Netherlands) and BTB (Belgium) protested outside a major conference centre in London, UK, where the company held its annual general meeting. They handed shareholders leaflets about the dispute and staged a stunt to highlight the message: “Rio Tinto: stop starving out Boron families”. In addition, members of the ILWU and London Mining Network, an alliance that aims to expose unacceptable actions by mining companies, attended as shareholders and proxies and raised questions on the issue during the meeting. However, the response from Rio Tinto’s chief executive officer Tom Albanese was considered to be evasive, containing false information concerning the dispute.
David Cockroft, ITF general secretary, Manfred Warda, International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union general secretary and Jyrki Raina, International Metalworkers’ Federation general secretary expressed their concerns in a statement on 16 April. They said: “We hope the presence of the miners’ representatives at the AGM will have opened shareholders’ eyes to the fact that they consider the company is nothing short of a global corporate bully and that the lives of ordinary families are being jeopardised simply for fighting for decent jobs.”
On 16 April ILWU representatives and others are expected to turn out for rallies at British consulates in the US as well as in Canada. In Australia the Maritime Union of Australia is planning an action on 22 April to coincide with the company’s annual general meeting in the country.
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