Displaying items by tag: Union

South Africa: LafargeHolcim has reported that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has accepted an 8% pay increase, according to Reuters. Around 800 workers affiliated to the union started a strike on 11 February 2016 asking for an 8.5% wage increase, a US$6500 housing grant, salary adjustments and a 35% acting allowance, Lafarge said in a statement. It added that the company was ‘well placed’ to meet its customer’s orders. The industrial action followed a series of negotiations which started in October 2015.

Turkey: The Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association (TÇMB) has signed a two-year labour agreement with the CIMSE-IS union. Under the terms of the deal workers wages will rise by 10.5% from 1 January 2016, according to CIMSE-IS and Reuters. Subsequently, workers will receive a raise on 1 Janaury 2017 based on an individual factory basis. Adana Çimento, Aslan Çimento, Unye Çimento, Mardin Çimento, Bursa Çimento and Bolu Çimento are members of the union.

Belgium: Holcim Belgium has announced plans to cut 48 out of 200 jobs at its cement plant in Obourg to restore profitability. By enhancing efficiency the management hopes to attract important investments.

Although cement demand in Belgium has remained stable in France and the Netherlands, which are supplied by the factory in Obourg, demand fell by 30%. In addition the plant at Obourg faces high fixed costs from taxes and an old production fleet.

The management believes the factory in Obourg may continue operating with 152 workers by improving flexibility and simplifying the organisation. Talks with trade unions will be started as soon as possible, the company added.

Spain: Workers at Holcim Spain have approved a preliminary agreement for a downsizing plan for 122 employees. With the agreement, the trade unions managed to reduce the number of employees included in the downsizing plan by 13.4% from the 141 workers originally intended.

India: The Cement Corporation of India's (CCI) Bokajan cement plant has halted production since 1 January 2014 due to a shortage of funds to purchase coal. Employees, unions and other local bodies have threatened to thwart any 'conspiracy of management' to close down the plant on 'insubstantial grounds' and have sought the intervention of Assam's Chief Minister to restore production.

Previously, the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) declared that the state-owned CCI was a 'sick' industry but following good revenues from the cement producer's plants in Rajbon, Tendur and Bokajan the Indian government decided to keep the plants running.

India: Chandrasekhar Hiremath, president of the Shramajeevigala Karmika Sangha and a trade nion leader, has alleged that two cement plants in Karnataka are not paying the minimum wage to contract and full-time workers. According to comments reported upon by The Hindu, Hiremath said that the Regional Labour Commissioner in Bellary, Karnataka had failed so far to ensure that workers were being paid properly at the UltraTech Cement plant at Malkhed and Vasavadatta Cements at Sedam.

A national wage settlement signed between the employees' unions and cement producers entitles all contract labourers and full-time workers to receive the wages fixed by the Cement Wage Board. Hiremath further alleged that Vasavadatta Cements had submitted a misleading report to the Regional Labour Commissioner. Daily wages of contract labourers and full-time workers at the plant were US$7 as opposed to the US$9.50 minimum set by the board.

India: Chandrashekhar Hiremath, trade union leader and president of the Shramajeevigala Vedike, will begin an indefinite fast from 15 July 2013 on behalf of worker rights at cement plants in Gulbarga and Koppal districts of Karnataka state. According to The Hindu newspaper, Hiremath is demanding that cement plants keep their word on payment of wages to over 8500 contract labourers at four major plants.

At a press conference Hiremath said that Vasavadatta Cements, Rajashree (Ultratech) Cements, Chettinad Cements and Ultratech Cements had failed to follow an agreement made in 2011 stating that they would regularise contract labourers and bring them under the cement wage board. Currently, contract labourers are paid a wage of US$65-180/month. Yet under the wage board they would gain a minimum wage of US$256/month at the four cement plants.

UAE: A series of results has been released by cement producers in the United Arab Emirates. Sharjah Cement has announced a US$3.5m net profit for the first half of 2012, an improvement from a US$0.6m loss in the first six months of 2011. Its revenue was up by 14.5% to US$87.5m from US$76.4m.

Meanwhile, Union Cement posted a profit of US$5.6m, which, like Sharjah, was an improvement from a loss. It lost US$4.1m in the first half of 2011. Union's sales revenue was down marginally year-on-year to US$88.3m, a drop of 0.2%.

Gulf Cement also made an improvement year-on-year, increasing its revenue by 14.9% from US$35.4m to US$40.7m. However, the company went from a profit of US$3.64m to a US$0.78m loss.