IMERYS DISPUTE: The ICEM (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions) has called upon the Belgian Frère Family to intervene in the dispute between the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy workers union (PACE), an ICEM affiliate, and Imerys, the ceramics and construction materials multinational. The Frère group's financial holding company has 23% of the shares in Imerys, which has its headquarters in France and which has initiated an anti-union campaign in its plants in Georgia and Alabama, USA. Following an Imerys restructuring exercise which led to the merger of unionised and non-unionised production plants in the USA, PACE wants to represent the workers in the new plants. However, the company has hired professional 'union busters' to discourage union organising, and is blocking attempts for a workers' vote on whether they want a union in the plant. PACE has charged Imerys with seven violations of US labour law, which are currently being investigated. USA Imerys workers visited Europe to ask for international solidarity support. French and British and Belgium trade unions, where Imerys has factories have pledged to support the campaign. A global campaign web-site on Imerys is now online at 'www.imerys-workers.org'.

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