Campaña de solidaridad con trabajadores en Cánada
La Internacional de Trabajadores de la Construcción y la Madera (ICM)
ha organizado una campaña para los trabajadores de la madera en
Canadá. Los compañeros están en huelga desde más de ocho semanas por razones
de horarios de trabajo, seguridad y subcontratación. Por favor tomen dos
minutos para FIRMAR nuestra campaña en línea dirigida contra Home Depot,
indicando su apoyo a la huelga del sindicato USW y que no comprará sus
productos hasta que se arregle el conflicto. Desgraciadamente no existe una
traducción en español.
Campaña de solidaridad: Trabajadores de la madera en huelga - SU ACCION ES
NECESARIA!
http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=1074&Language=EN
Solidarity campaign: Canadian wood workers on strike for health and safety - ACT NOW!
The BWI has been updating its readers on the wood workers strike in Canada. Canadian woodworkers on the Pacific Coast, members of BWI affiliated union the United Steelworkers (USW), have been on strike for over eight weeks in a dispute that centres on hours of work, safety and contracting out.
Over 7,000 loggers, sawmill workers and other employees of companies in the rugged coastal forest sector of British Columbia struck on July 21 following inconclusive negotiations with an industry umbrella group and three firms that bargained independently.
The main issues – safety, shift scheduling and hours of work and contracting out – are left over from a strike in late 2003 that was ended after only three weeks by a contract legislated by the province’s right-wing “Liberal” government. Instead of a negotiated settlement, coastal forest workers in Canada’s western-most province were saddled with a contract that gave employers the unilateral right to impose longer hours and bizarre shift configurations without consulting the Union and with little or no notice to affected workers.
As a result, safety and health suffered and over 65 forest workers have been killed (and hundreds more seriously injured) in the province since January 2005. In spite of this evidence and many studies showing that accidents rise and productivity falls with longer shifts, companies refuse to relinquish their government-issued right to impose irregular shifts and workdays that often total up 15 or 16 hours per day, when travel and loading time is factored in. Although industry representatives claim they can’t compete without the long shifts, one forest-industry analyst bluntly told them that if they kill their employees, perhaps they shouldn’t be in business.
In addition, many companies have turned to low-bid contracting out, raw-log exports, sawmill closures, conversion of their Coastal timberlands into real estate and have channelled investment capital into the United States, severely impacting BC Steelworkers, their families and coastal communities dependent on the industry.
Before and during contract negotiations in 2003, Interfor CEO Duncan Davies, TimberWest CEO Paul McElligott and Weyerhaueser’s Canadian VP Craig Neeser, made lofty promises that with a favourable outcome in negotiations and changes to forest law they would invest a billion dollars in the coastal forest industry over 10 years. Although they got what they wanted, these companies have continued to disinvest from Coastal British Columbia, continuing a process that has seen investment in new plant and equipment fall below depreciation for over a decade.
“Now our members are saying enough is enough,” says Steelworkers Western Canada director Steve Hunt. “While companies neglect their operations, workers are being squeezed to the limit, trying to stay competitive with run-down sawmills and deteriorating logging equipment.”
Workers on the picket lines have been supported by North-America-wide action by Steelworkers, whose international president Leo Gerard visited coastal picket lines in August. Steelworkers and their allies have leafleted building-products retail giant Home Depot’s stores across Canada and the US; a massive day of action is planned against Home Depot and other corporate targets on September 29.
“Consumers should know that Home Depot is aiding struck companies with poor worker-safety records by selling these products,” notes Gerard. “Informed customers won’t buy those products and they won’t want Home Depot selling that lumber once they know these firms are on strike, and the issues facing these forest and wood workers.”
The USW is asking its affiliates, fraternal organisations and workers world-wide to support the BC forest workers in their struggle for safety and dignity.
Please take the time to sign the following message to Home Depot management, indicating your support for the USW strike, your displeasure that the company continues to sell products from these struck companies and that you will not purchase these wood products until the hours of work, safety and other issues are resolved with the Union.
Over 7,000 loggers, sawmill workers and other employees of companies in the rugged coastal forest sector of British Columbia struck on July 21 following inconclusive negotiations with an industry umbrella group and three firms that bargained independently.
The main issues – safety, shift scheduling and hours of work and contracting out – are left over from a strike in late 2003 that was ended after only three weeks by a contract legislated by the province’s right-wing “Liberal” government. Instead of a negotiated settlement, coastal forest workers in Canada’s western-most province were saddled with a contract that gave employers the unilateral right to impose longer hours and bizarre shift configurations without consulting the Union and with little or no notice to affected workers.
As a result, safety and health suffered and over 65 forest workers have been killed (and hundreds more seriously injured) in the province since January 2005. In spite of this evidence and many studies showing that accidents rise and productivity falls with longer shifts, companies refuse to relinquish their government-issued right to impose irregular shifts and workdays that often total up 15 or 16 hours per day, when travel and loading time is factored in. Although industry representatives claim they can’t compete without the long shifts, one forest-industry analyst bluntly told them that if they kill their employees, perhaps they shouldn’t be in business.
In addition, many companies have turned to low-bid contracting out, raw-log exports, sawmill closures, conversion of their Coastal timberlands into real estate and have channelled investment capital into the United States, severely impacting BC Steelworkers, their families and coastal communities dependent on the industry.
Before and during contract negotiations in 2003, Interfor CEO Duncan Davies, TimberWest CEO Paul McElligott and Weyerhaueser’s Canadian VP Craig Neeser, made lofty promises that with a favourable outcome in negotiations and changes to forest law they would invest a billion dollars in the coastal forest industry over 10 years. Although they got what they wanted, these companies have continued to disinvest from Coastal British Columbia, continuing a process that has seen investment in new plant and equipment fall below depreciation for over a decade.
“Now our members are saying enough is enough,” says Steelworkers Western Canada director Steve Hunt. “While companies neglect their operations, workers are being squeezed to the limit, trying to stay competitive with run-down sawmills and deteriorating logging equipment.”
Workers on the picket lines have been supported by North-America-wide action by Steelworkers, whose international president Leo Gerard visited coastal picket lines in August. Steelworkers and their allies have leafleted building-products retail giant Home Depot’s stores across Canada and the US; a massive day of action is planned against Home Depot and other corporate targets on September 29.
“Consumers should know that Home Depot is aiding struck companies with poor worker-safety records by selling these products,” notes Gerard. “Informed customers won’t buy those products and they won’t want Home Depot selling that lumber once they know these firms are on strike, and the issues facing these forest and wood workers.”
The USW is asking its affiliates, fraternal organisations and workers world-wide to support the BC forest workers in their struggle for safety and dignity.
Please take the time to sign the following message to Home Depot management, indicating your support for the USW strike, your displeasure that the company continues to sell products from these struck companies and that you will not purchase these wood products until the hours of work, safety and other issues are resolved with the Union.
publicadas por Dasten Julián @ 23:09
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