Displaying items by tag: Workers

Barbados: Arawak Cement plans to introduce alcohol breath tests for all of its workers in late March 2019. Previously the cement producer had been conducting random tests, according to the Barbados Today newspaper. The introduction date for the breath test has been delayed following negotiations with the Barbados Workers Union. Multiple breaches of the company’s alcohol rules could lead to drug treatment, counselling or discipline. The cement producer says it has introduced the alcohol testing on health and safety grounds.

Germany: The RKW Group came second in a study into ‘Germany's Most Sought-After Employer 2018’ by the FAZ Institute and the IMWF Institute for Management and Economic Research. The institutes looked at the 5000 largest companies in the country and scored them by quality, performance, success, sustainability, corporate culture and values.

The RKW Group is a family-owned company headquartered in Frankenthal, Germany and a manufacturer of film solutions for hygiene, agricultural and beverage sectors. It also produces packaging for powdery goods. In addition, the company makes films and nonwovens for medical applications, for the chemical and converting industries as well as for the construction sector.

Bolivia: A group of retired workers who used to work for Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce) have asked for a 10% share in the cement producer. They have made their request to the company’s largest shareholder, the businessman and politician Samuel Doria Medina, according to the La Razon newspaper. They were allocated a 10% share in the business in 1975. However, the pensioners allege that Doria Medina cancelled their shares using false documentation. Doria Medina holds a 49% share in the company. He sold the other 51% share for US$300m to Holding Cementero, the largest shareholder of Consorcio Cementero del Sur, which is part of Gloria Group in 2014.

Israel: Nesher Israel Cement has dismissed 20 workers at its Haifa plant. The redundancies took place in October 2018 due to a fall in production, according to the Globes newspaper. The company is also considering making staff change at its Ramla plant. Previously, Israeli cement producers have blamed Turkey and Greece for declining business and have lobbied for anti-dumping tariffs.

Chile: Union workers at Cemento Polpaico have gone on strike following negotiations. 162 workers, or around 15% of its employees, have taken industrial action, according to the Diario Financiero newspaper. The cement producer is unable to estimate the impact of the strike on its financial results.

France: Worker’s at LafargeHolcim’s Martres-Tolosane cement plant have gone on strike over salary negotiations. A coalition of unions says that the company has refused to increase salaries despite a recovery in the cement market, according to France Info radio. The plant employs 110 workers. In mid-2017 LafargeHolcim announced that it was spending Euro100m on building a new clinker production line at the site.

US: St Marys Cement has suspended production at its Dixon plant in Illinois. The move will result in about two-thirds of the employees losing their jobs, according to the Sauk Valley Newspapers. The company, a subsidiary of Brazil’s Votorantim, plans to continue cement grinding at the site until the summer of 2018 when its inventory will be exhausted. Then the plant will be used as a distribution terminal only.

The company said that the decision was made to improve cost efficiencies and that the plant’s location was poor compared to other sites. However, it plans to review its decision on stopping production by the end of 2018.

The Dixon cement plant originally opened in 1914 before becoming idle in 2008. Production then resumed in 2015.

Nigeria: Workers at Lafarge Africa’s Mfamosing cement plant have complained about an alleged dominance of expatriates at the company. The workers say that most of the departments have been ‘taken over’ by foreign staff, according to the Punch newspaper. Affected divisions include utilities, security, logistics, finance and safety departments. However, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, the director for Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development at Lafarge Africa, has denied the claims. She said out of the 95 expatriate allocations approved by the Ministry of Interior for the Mfamosing plant only seven of the positions are occupied by foreign workers, a figure less than the 10% approved expatriate allocation rate.

South Africa: Members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) members at PPC’s Slurry cement plant in North West province have gone on strike over wages. The NUM gave the cement producer a notice to strike in mid-October 2017 and then workers started taking action on 17 October 2017. The union wants a pay rise on 12% and other benefits, but PPC has only offered 6%.

Chile: Cementos Bío Bío is to stop producing clinker at its Talcahuano cement plant. The cement producer has also laid off a third of its workforce, according to Pura Noticia. It now plans to import clinker from Asia instead, which it says, will reduce its production costs by US$19/t. The company started cement production at Talcahuano in 1961.