01 December 2016
Corporacion Socialista de Cemento workers seek collective contract 01 December 2016
Venezuela: Union representatives from the Corporacion Socialista de Cemento have met with their counterparts from the aluminium industry to discuss how to obtain a collective contract for workers in the cement industry. The Cement Union Coalition (Coalicion de los Sindicatos Cementeros), comprising unions such as Sintracemex, Sintraboica, Sutracompeblo, Invecem and Sintracea, is seeking to sign a national unified agreement for cement workers to unify worker benefits, according to the Nueva Prensa newspaper. At present there are over 20 collective contracts in the cement sector with variations in wages and working conditions. The union has compiled a draft collective contract that will be revised before being passed to the government for negotiation.
Annual cement sales up by 8.15% so far in Dominican Republic 01 December 2016
Dominican Republic: Adocem, the cement association for the Dominican Republic, has reported that sales have risen by 8.15% year-on-year to 4.3Mt so far in 2016, according to the Listin Diario newspaper. Association president Gabriel Ballestas commented that the industry has benefited from government efforts and other local industries.
India: LafargeHolcim has received environment clearance to raise the production capacity of its Nongtrai limestone mine in Meghalaya to 5Mt/yr from 2Mt/yr for US$28m. The mine is operated by Lafarge Umiam Mining, a subsidiary of Lafarge Surma Cement, according to the Press Trust of India. Limestone from the mine is transported across the border to Lafarge Surma Cement’s plant in Bangladesh. The increased limestone is expected to increase the production capacity at the plant to 5.5Mt/yr from 2.2Mt/yr.
The mine expansion project is subject to final outcomes of cases pending before Supreme Court, High Court and National Green Tribunal. LafargeHolcim’s subsidiaries have also been asked to obtain clearance from the National Board of Wildlife and the State Pollution Control Board.
US: HeidelbergCement has completed the sale of its Martinsburg, West Virginia cement plant and eight related terminals to Cementos Argos. With the finalisation of the sale the group has now met all the obligations with regards to its acquisition of Italcementi.
“With the disposal of the US assets we fulfil the obligation of the Federal Trade Commission and improve the net financial position of HeidelbergCement after the acquisition of Italcementi,” said Bernd Scheifele, chief executive officer of HeidelbergCement.
HeidelbergCement and Cementos Argos announced the sale in August 2016. The transaction purchase price was US$660m on a cash and debt-free basis. The FTC approved the agreement in November 2016.