Displaying items by tag: Wages

South Korea: A truck driver strike has ended after seven days. The Korea Herald newspaper has reported that the government has agreed to extend a freight rate-based minimum wage system. The total cost to the cement industry was US$70.6m,

South Korea: A total of 8200 truck drivers have gone on strike to request higher wages and an extension of the government’s freight charge system. The Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper has reported that 50% of the country’s 2700 cement truck drivers are unionised. Under the freight charge system, drivers receive minimum monthly payments in order to tackle the problem of overloading.

Canada: Workers at St Mary’s Cement’s Port-Daniel-Gascons cement plant have voted in favour of taking strike action in a dispute over matters including wages and pensions. Local press has reported that workers and the company, a subsidiary of Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos, will sit in negotiations on 13 and 14 June 2022. Employees previously rejected a ‘final and comprehensive’ offer from the company earlier in May 2022.

Russia: SibCem’s first vice president Gennady Rasskazov says that the local production cost of cement is expected to rise by 30% year-on-year in 2022 due to the new ‘economic circumstances’ the country faces. He added that, due to economic sanctions, the price of coal rose by 76 - 86%, goods and materials by 55%, diesel by 30%, oils and lubricants by 83% and transport and logistics costs by 14 - 24% in the first quarter of 2022. The average growth in worker pay at SibCem will rise by 30% in 2022 as the company has implemented indexed salaries. Rasskazov made the comments at a meeting with cement producers, consumers and local officials at the Novosibirsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

Mexico: Cemex has expanded its Executive Variable Compensation program, which includes progress on its carbon reduction goals as a variable, to cover over 4500 executives. The initiative is part of the company's Future in Action program, which focuses on reducing the carbon footprint of Cemex's operations and products to become a net-zero CO2 company by 2050. From the start of 2022, the CO₂ emissions component will have an impact that will range from -10% to +10% in the total cash payout of the annual executive variable compensation.

Russia: Eurocement has started an initiative to reduce its reliance on spare parts purchased from outside of the country. The programme is designed to start a phased transition to in-house production of components. One of the first examples of the scheme has been the development and installation of a clutch for a mill at the Sengileevsky cement plant.

The cement producer hopes to source at least 90% of the parts it requires domestically. At present it says that around 30% of the equipment used in the local cement sector is imported. The estimated economic effect will be around Euro14m.

The company has also announced an unscheduled indexation of staff wages to over 7000 workers at 16 cement plants. Indexing of wages is typically used to compensate for inflation. Other measures have also included food support. Vyacheslav Shmatov, the general director of Eurocement, said ““We have decided to increase our support measures for our employees during this difficult time in order to strengthen our work teams. Eurocement is, first of all, people, so the company will continue to take care of its employees.”

International economic sanctions were implemented upon Russia by European and North American countries in response to its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trinidad & Tobago: Current and former employees of Trinidad Cement have held two-day weekly protests since 10 January 2022 outside the company’s Claxton Bay plant in Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo Region. Staff from the past 10 years reportedly say that the company owes them their agreed cost of living allowance, gain shares and backpay.

Algeria: Some cement truck drivers have launched protests against a change in the law which limits their vehicles’ loads below the previous maximum weight. The L’Expression newspaper reports that protests include refusals to depart and the establishment of roadblocks. The actions have prevented the export of some Algerian clinker. Lafarge Algérie said that it raised drivers’ pay per tonne of goods following the law change. The company stated that the new level of pay ensures that transporters will not lose out as a result.

Algeria is targeting cement and clinker exports of 10Mt in 2022.

Argentina: The Association of Portland Cement Manufacturers (AFCP) has agreed with the Argentine Mining Workers Association union to a 48% pay rise for all Argentinean cement workers. The La Voz del Interior newspaper has reported that the union has lifted its nationwide state of alert as a result of the agreement.

Laos: Workers at the Guestown-Lao cement plant have been paid back wages in a dispute. All 170 employees owed money by the Guestown-Lao company plant in Luang Prabang province’s Nam Bak district have now received US$42,000 from the plant’s new owner, according to Radio Free Asia. Some of the former employees of the plant have also returned to work under the new management.

Provincial authorities detained the Chinese owner of the Guestown-Lao plant in April 2021, accused him of failing to pay wages to his Lao workers in November 2020 and subsequently filed criminal charges against him. He is now awaiting trial on the charges. The company has since been taken over by China-based Jian Qe.